Job Discussion Forums

[Bule_Gila]

I have been to many different countries throughout the world, teaching ESL. I have taught ESl on every continent on this planet, excluding Antarctica of course, and I must say that I find Indonesian drivers to be amongst the WORST drivers in the world!

Why do they make cars and motorbikes here with rear view mirrors? Indonesians seem to never use them! They just pull out in front of you or cut you off, without ever looking in the mirrors to see if anyone is behind them.

The worst are idiot drivers who own big SUV's. Most streets here are two lane streets and these vehicles take up one and a half lanes! Why do they sell such vehicles here, when the roads can't obviously accomondate such vehicles?!

Another thing that gets me cussing are idiot drivers here who drive in the middle of the road, with their cars. Can't you pick one side and stay on that side? It's stressful trying to pass such idiots because you don't know what they intend to do! Also, when they make u turns why do these idiot drivers pull into the outer lane? Are they incapable of making a u turn from the inside land like every other country?

The funniest thing though, are idiot drivers who honk their horns at you to speed up or move out of their way. The reason it is funny is because the roads are so congested that even if I move, they end up getting stuck by the vehicle that was in front of me...Idiot drivers!!!

Another idiotic thing are Indonesian drivers who insist on honking their horns at you when you are at a traffic light. The counter at the intersection says you have 4 seconds left before you get the green light and some idiot behind you honks the horn, as if the light has been green for several seconds!

Last, but certainly not least, are the idiot parents of Indonesian kids who allow their son or daughter, who is no more than 12 years of age, to drive a motorbike. I was teaching a class the other day, and one of my students, who is only 14, came to school driving a Jeep!

I love Indonesia but hate the stupid people who drive like idiots!

Do you guys have any other horror stories about driving in Indonesia?

[basiltherat]

hi
do the police still throw rocks at vehicles that don't stop at traffic lights ? i know they used to.

Or are they too busy doing stopping vehicles without reason to get some 'additiona income' for upcoming idul fitri ... as they used to do at this time.

worst drivers in the world ? possibly. although damascus must be high up that particular league.

best
basil

[rayman]

I guess it depends what we mean by 'worst.' There are some driving skills I think Indonesians would fair quite well in.

They probably have better spatial awareness than most western drivers due to the tighter roads and numerous 'close calls' experienced on every journey.

Additionally, Indonesia's obsession with reverse parking into every car space must also hone these skills. I recall once driving straight into a parking space instead of reversing in. The parking attendant told me I wasn't allowed to do that. When I asked why, his response was "ga boleh aja".

Common sense and obeying universal traffic rules - well that's a different matter.

[travelNteach]

bule gila: if u are going to survive here, u need to delete 2 words for your vocabulary.... why and logic. if u insist on using logic u will be frustrated. asking why is like a 2 year old that just learned to use the word and uses it over and over again even if the answers are completely non-sensical.

pretty good description but u forgot: public transportation with no brake likes, motorcycles that drive at night with no lights on to conserve their batteries/fuel, lack of turn signals, making right turns from the left lane in roads with 3 or more lanes, motorcycles driving on the sidewalks, motorcycles driving the wrong way on one way roads, family of 5/6 on a single motorcycle, moving house using motorcycles, and microlets that park in the middle of the street in case someone comes by in the next 15 minutes so they can get that extra 1,000 rp, even though the microlet that passed them got to pick up 12 waiting passengers further up the road. jaywalking is strongly encouraged, especially at night when cars have no possibility of seeing u.

there are probably millions of more examples: but why ask why? mental masturbation like a dog chasing its tail...... never going to get u anywhere but the mental institution. lol

to relieve stress/frustration, just get your own vehicle and drive worse. works for me. i am certifably the worst car and motorcycle driver in the indonesia.

oh yeah, i used to think that traffic lights were merely suggestions, not something to actually be obeyed. after all these years, i realize they are only decorations that can be completely ignored.

hcmc is pretty chaotic.

[Bule_Gila]

@Basil

The police don't throw rocks anymore lol. They will pull you over if you are not wearing a helmet in an attempt to extort money from you, usually 100,000 IDR which is cheaper than the 250,000 IDR the fine is of course. The funny thing is that these officers act like they are doing you a favor by asking for a bribe.....thanks for the discount officer lol

@TravelNTeach

I stopped asking why and thinking abut logic at this oint lol. I drive a motorcycle and try my best to behave but at times I find yself cutting off other drivers who act like idiots. I like your additional examples of bad driving, very funny and unfortunately very true.

Traffic lights are here for decoration as well lol, but have you noticed that there are NO stop signs at four way intersections without a light or no parking signs for certain roads that are only single lane. Its a drive at your own risk deal here lol.

Oh yeah, lest I forget the roads with potholes so big, you could fit a Bakso seller and his trolly inside with room to spare...I swear by God that I still see pot holes here in roads that I saw back in 2004 when I first came to Indonesia.

P.S.

Almost forgot about te taxi drivers, who rip you off by turning of the meter and who drive at 200 km/h on roads that are meant for 50 km/h tops lol, and buses that utilize plastic yard seating for passengers when the bus is full and cramped.

[rayman]

[basiltherat]

i think there are parallels between driving on jakarta streets and the living in the jungle.

the bigger you are, the more successfully you can barge in and get your own 'way' (in more ways than one !).

huge trucks get priority of buses, buses over minivans, minivans over sedans; sedans over bajajs; bajas over motorcycles and motorcycles over bicycles. In short; size matters !

forget about pedestrians.

they're rock bottom of jakarta streets' "evolutionary scale". they simply don't exist in the eyes of a driver.

[MrMrLuckyKhan]

[MrMrLuckyKhan]

[rayman]

I once had a drunk ojek rider with a missing right eye. When he tried to do a U turn across the busway lane his head spun around - poltergeist style. At that point I got off and walked.

[Bule_Gila]

I remember the last time I came back to Samarinda, from Balikpapan. On the way we encountered a huge traffic jam. As we inched along, it became obvious that there was an accident ahead. When my taxi driver finally got to the clearing in the road I saw the accident. A motor bike driver tried to pass vehicles on a two lane road by speeding into oncoming traffic. We was met by a speeding dump truck. I will let you guess who won that gam of chicken. Needless to say the only thing that survived the accident was the back wheel, the rest of it was unidentifyable. I didn't see the body, thank God, but one can assume it looked like the bike.

Yeah, driving here is Darwinism in a way...survival of the fittest.

[philbags]

Sri Lankan drivers are worse. Dito on SUVs being the most selfish. Basically there is no curtesy or consideration even up to the point where you are putting lives in danger. I guess the reasoning is that if you own an expensive (and indestructible)car, that gives you the right to do as you please. Pretty much the law of the jungle, right?

[malu]

Lumping all Indonesian drivers together is a gross oversimplification. Actually, Jakarta drivers although pretty silly at times are a good deal more disciplined than their country cousins. There are rules in the major towns and cities, though those rules may be quite different from the official ones. Out in the sticks the unofficial rules are different again and much less likely to be followed.

[Madame J]

I can't believe nobody here has mentioned all the texting!