Use of the horn – if the light has turned green and you’ve not moved for more than 0.5 of a second, people will gladly call your attention to this fact. The horn will definitely wear out quicker over here, at times it seems as though everyone should just learn Morse code; with so much honking from every direction, it is sometimes difficult to understand who is beeping at whom, and for what purpose.
There used to be a roundabout between our flat and the in-law’s house. It was always interesting watching people use it, for two reasons; 1) Roundabouts are relatively unique, in Astana at least, so people didn’t always seem to use them in the same way as other drivers also present, and 2) The rules aren’t the same as back in the UK; If a major road meets a roundabout, the people already ON the roundabout have to give way to others joining the melee from the major road. It worked so well, they’ve now converted that particular roundabout back to a normal junction. It does at least now have pedestrian crossings, so you can be more morally indignant if you get run over.
Zebra crossings are one way to bring a little adrenaline into your bloodstream. If you try and cross them as you would back home, you WILL end up having a heart attack. The best way to approach them seems to be to wait for the least amount of traffic to be approaching the crossing, and try to figure out which cars are actually likely to slow down, let alone stop, for you. Some drivers will beep to let you know that they have no intention of slowing down; others have actually switched lanes, seemingly to increase the chance of a bone vs. metal match up.
Every time someone important decides to travel somewhere in Astana, police will close down the roads the VIPs intend to use, and some 5 – 10 minutes later, you’ll see the President/Government Minister/Foreign Valued Businessman shoot past, in a cavalcade of Limos, Jeeps and/or Hummers and occasionally police motorcycle out-riders.
Just because you are a pedestrian though, don’t assume this will have no impact; we’ve been waiting at a bus stop, next to a bus lay-by, and found ourselves moved BEHIND the bus shelter, for security reasons!
Moving onto the more positive aspects of motor vehicles in Kazakhstan; the buses and mini-buses, whilst not particularly able to stick to their timetable due to the recent explosion in traffic volume, are dirt cheap, at least if you’re spending UK wages.
The availability of taxis may not, at first, appear that great. Once you realise that a lot of ‘civilian’ drivers will happily stop and give you a lift for a quickly bartered fee, getting from one place to another seems a lot easier. HOWEVER, in the same way as hitch-hiking in the UK, you DO need to be careful about personal safety. Don’t travel alone, and don’t get in the car if there is more than just the driver there. (Small children/grannies/granddads are possible exceptions). Basically, be aware of the situation you are placing yourself into.
August 8th, 2007 12:52 am
It sounds like you are at risk if you try to cross the road! LOL Did the honking drive you crazy when you first moved there? Can you hear it inside your flat?
August 8th, 2007 1:47 am
You hit the nail on the head there – if you cross the road as you would in the West, you will have problems, be it a car skidding into you, or simply a heart attack from a ton of metal seemingly about to plough into you!
However, there is now a proper traffic light pedestrian crossing near our flat now, so there is less stress if you are heading in that direction.
February 29th, 2008 10:03 pm
[…] and fit in a trip to Kazakhstan. (See my previous articles (You Drinking. Other People Driving , Driving Contd. and a few other shorter posts can all be found within the Kazakh Driving category on this blog) on […]
September 10th, 2009 11:35 am
Oh people risk their lives daily on those dangerous KZ roads for sure! 🙂 Being born in the USSR I could never understand the modern KZ drivers who drive like totally mad people. It’s like they are constantly feeling suicidal, passionately hating all people around them and suffering from all sorts of psychological complexes… 🙂 The way they act behind the wheel defies common sense and logic. No respect for other fellow human beings and themselves, for that matter… Bottom line: crazy drivers! 🙂
September 14th, 2009 11:30 pm
It is a bit like a mix between Indian city driving and Dubai rush hour quantities of traffic sometimes. They are at least now finally to start wearing belts in the front a little more often. We always have to specify that we want a taxi with functioning rear belts these days though, to fit Anna’s car seat. I’ve seen cars where they aren’t just hidden under folding seats, but actually CUT off!!!
September 16th, 2009 1:19 am
Haven’t been to Dubai so what are their rush hour quantities like? Cut-off seat belts–bummer! 🙂 What about tether bolts probably are unheard of? 🙂
September 16th, 2009 8:17 pm
Re. Dubai, I’ve only been once a good few years back, but the roads got so blocked that drivers would often drive the equivalent of 3/4 of a circle to get from A to B, instead of 1/4.
Tether bolts? Are they to fix children’s car seats to? It seems as though America (& Canada?) tend to use slightly different fixings that Europeans, from the brief wiki-ing I’ve just carried out. Anyway, our cat seat works fine as long as there is either one quite long shoulder belt, or two belts available. We still need to specify we want rear seat belts when we order a taxi – they’ve only goofed up once so far. Just sent it back and asked for a better car 🙂