Traffic in Bangladesh is horrendous. The roads are packed with people, rickshaws, buses, baby taxis, and cars. Even the most practiced of drivers will find it difficult to navigate the Bangladeshi roads. Local drivers took my parents and I where we needed to go by car. Drivers slam on the brakes every couple of minutes and lay on the horn to encourage other drivers to go faster or move out of the way. This makes for a loud and jerky ride. Avoiding close run-ins with other vehicles can be quite exhilarating though.
In some parts of Bangladesh there are no traffic lights, signs, or lanes. It's complete anarchy. Unbelievably, in the midst of all this chaos; cars, rickshaws, baby taxis, and buses somehow maintain their own law and order. In newer areas there are traffic lights and lanes and traffic cops. What astounded me is that cars would go regardless if the light was green or red. What's the point then? The traffic police seem to understand the futility of their work and do little in the way of policing.
Pedestrians are not granted right of way and accidents are a common occurrence as are hit and runs. Even ambulances are not granted right of way! Perhaps because it's hard enough just going forward. But where's the empathy in that?
Westerners will find driving in Bangladesh is like riding a roller coaster; a mix of fun and thrills and of fear and shock.
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