The Rules of the Road

I had an interesting conversation with one of the other gringos last night walking home from the bus stop. We had crossed the road half-way and were waiting for a break in traffic to complete our trek to the other side when the diaglogue began. It was intiated after 3 or 4 cars passed in front of us, completely blowing off the stop sign in the middle of the road. And there we took up the topic of traffic rules in Colombia. The following is what we decided:

1) First of all, it seems that all traffic signs are merely suggestions. Speed limit? Never inforced. Stop signs? Possible cause for slowing down. Street signs? I'm not certain they even exist.

2) One-Way streets aren't necesarrily one way streets. If the one-way street happens to be the shortest distance from a location, a taxi driver will usually take it. Even if this means driving the wrong way. I've seen regular vehicles do this too.

3) The double yellow line signifying no passing zones are ingored. To my great fear I've been on several busses winding up mountains that decide to pass. There is NO way the driver can see around the corner, but it doesn't matter. The semi truck in front of us was just going to slow. At least the bus is fairly large, so when we have a head on collision I have a high chance of surviving?

4) People with motorcycles do what they want: weave to the front of a line of cars in traffic; drive on sidewalks; ride with babies on their laps; speed through heavily populated areas; Really anything....interestingly enough, however, they all wear helmets. Helmets must make you invincible.

5) If you're sitting in the front seat you have to wear a seatbelt. They are pretty insistant about this one too. Maybe this is the only rule they inforce?

6) Speed bumps are everywhere. I ride a bus every day to school and these blasted speed bumps cause fierce application of the brakes followed by a brief moment of slowing down and then a surge forward. This is a recipe for a headache/nauea

So these, my friends, are the rules of the road...or at least what 2 gringos were able to deduce while standing in the middle of the street waiting to make our move across.