Confession: I AM a big bad Greek driver
Trip Start
Jun 14, 2008
1
25
26
Trip End
Jul 01, 2008
Athens, Attica, Greece
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
I flew back to Canada. (Cheating on the locale of this post so the pics don't seem incongruous -- h/t to Melissa). I drove. Highest posted speed limit, 100 km/h. Highest effective speed limit (I know this from a friend of a friend who's a cop), 119. It was so... sedate. So orderly. Where's the challenge? Where's the thrill? Where's the rush of knowing you're constantly on the knife-edge of disaster?
Here are a few things I would now add to Matt Barrett's 26 survival rules for driving in Greece
Our car -- a Hyundai Accent. 2007, I think
.1. Don't count on road markings to mean anything or be there. Mostly they are, but often they aren't.
2. In fact, don't count on the road continuing to be there. Sometimes your lane will just end with a pile of dirt or something, with no warning signs.
3. A stop sign does NOT mean what it does in North America. It's more like, "slow down and check for someone coming the other way before going through." The first time I saw a stop sign and a green light superimposed, I was baffled, until I understood this.
4. Stoplights are not easy to spot for some reason. Learn how. If from a distance you see a red signal to left of a green one, the green one is for straight through, the red (as will become apparent when you get closer and see the arrow) is for left.
5. Between each lane, marked by a dotted line, is a motorcycle lane. This may not be set out in Greek law, but it is truth in the real world of Greek roadways. As an innocent, naive North American you might think that the dotted line is there to mark out the car/truck lanes, and that is true, but it also marks the motorcycle lane, which goes up between the car/truck lanes and is used fearlessly and without hesitation
First driving in Athens
. When changing lanes, don't just look for cars in the lane into which you want to go, but for two-wheeling maniacs coming up between.6. Greeks are just impatient; they don't get real road rage. They'll beep you just as heartily in thanks as in demand or pique.
7. If you're in the passing lane and someone comes up behind you with their left signal flashing, it means please move over so they can pass. That and flashing their lights are the polite ways of saying this. They'll also tail you unmercifully, whistle or honk.
8. If you want to go slowly and you're on a two-lane road with a paved shoulder, drive on the shoulder so others can pass. This is not only legal, but expected. Also look out for people passing coming the other way; getting out of their way is also expected. The corollary is that you can pass in seemingly impossible places; the slower drivers will get out of your way. There is a real ethic that everyone should be allowed to drive the speed they want.
9. There is a solid statistical correlation between fast driving and expensive cars -- mostly Mercedes, BMW's and Audis. Much more so than in North America. Perhaps these guys figure they can afford to bribe the speed cops.
Driving on the shoulder to let others pass
10. If you drive as fast as an average North American driver, don't worry about getting a speeding ticket. You won't in a gazillion years.11. Signage is by destination, not by name of road, usually. You'll never see a sign telling you what road you are on; I suspect the Greek attitude is, if you don't know what road you're on, you're too stupid to drive. Learning to read Greek gives you a definite advantage. In most of the country, there are English-language signs, but the Greek ones come first and give you more time to make decisions. The Greek is yellow on blue, English white on blue. Signs for cultural locations, such as archaeological sites, are brown.
12. Always be aware, on your toes, anticipating and thinking. I'm not sure whether this is the case in the rest of Europe, but it is in Greece.
I'm going to miss it.
Comments
Sounds like a great trip
I was doing a Google search on Macedonia and Greece and I ended up with a link to all your entries. Great trip, thanks for eating up 20 minutes of my time!
Just a few responses to everything.
1. I write fiction too and I agree a firsthand experience of a place is great, but then I think of Thomas Mann's Death In Venice--he never visited, and yet he has the best descriptions of Venice in the history of literature!
2. I've read quite a few Alexander novels, and for now, Mary Butts' Macedonian in the best. Good luck with yours.
3. Culinary Faggots are a type of Swedish Meatballs. Fasola is the Greek work for beans, so I'm guessing that restaurant catered to Swedes?
4. Bacon in Greece is available on the islands. We here in the states prefer our bacon cooked well though. In Greece they make 'rare' bacon which is more for the British tourist.