Driving in Burma

Rollin'

I’ve been driving for about five years now, and I consider myself pretty good at it for my age/experience level. Driving in the U.S. is pretty straightforward, after all. There are lanes that you stay in, turns signals to indicate when turning, speed limits, etc., and for the most part everyone accepts and abides by these rules. I would venture that this is the case in most of the Western world (excluding Providence).

Then you have driving in the Third World. Lanes? Huh? What do you need a turn signal for when you have a horn? And a ‘speed limit’, that’s rich. Fortunately(?) for me, I’ve had the opportunity while in Burma to drive quite a bit actually, in all conditions: large SUV, sedan, motorcycle, left side drive, right side drive, day, night, rain, torrential downpour, and shine. So, let me explain a little about what it’s like for those that will never get the opportunity.

Driving in Burma is a little bit like being in a bumper car ring where everyone is actually trying to get somewhere (different of course) and you’re not allowed to hit anyone. Most laws that you think are essential in the U.S. are either non-existent or ignored on principle. Nobody wears seat belts, if there are speed limits printed in Burmese then everyone ignores them (I haven’t noticed any), and drivers have a tendency to drive straight down the lane marker as opposed to in one lane or the other. Pedestrians here laugh in the face of death and will stroll right into the middle of speeding traffic, hopping from one lane line to the next until they are across and then grinning and joking about how they literally almost got run over. People will park in the most idiotic places, and sometimes the outermost lane will just be consumed completely by ramshackle street vendors and parked cabs. There are also people making u-turns everywhere, contributing to random bumper-to-bumper traffic that disappears as quickly as it materializes. It’s actually a miracle in my opinion that people here do abide by traffic lights (which happen to have little timers on them that tell you how long the light will last, dead useful).

Because of the large influx of cars to the streets of Yangon over the past few years the city is highly congested at certain points of the day, caused partially by a number of skyways currently under construction that will eventually alleviate some of the traffic. I don’t know about morning rush, but pretty much from 3pm to 8pm you can forget about getting anywhere in the city in a timely fashion. Case in point, Anna and I sat in a cab yesterday for a little over an hour during a trip which would normally take about 10 minutes with less traffic. 

My verdict on driving here is that half the time it’s fun as hell, and the other half it’s pretty much a living hell. Especially around where I’m staying, there are some genuinely nice roads, and with the palm trees and red and white curb paint you start getting that arcade racing vibe pretty quickly… not to mention it’s nice not having to worry about silly laws ruining all the fun. On the other hand, once you get stuck in traffic I’m not going to lie it sucks, especially when it’s hot and you don’t have AC.

The jury is still out on how my experience driving in Burma will affect my driving once I return to U.S. roads… probably negatively. I have successfully avoided being involved in any accidents thus far (aside from being rear-ended at a red light, minor impact no damage) and my reflexes and horn-honking instincts are at an all-time high, but I’m also now used to passing on two-lane streets, forcing my way into lanes, and honking at slower cars to get out of the way. Whatever the eventual effects on my driving, definitely a worthwhile experience and probably some good practice for future travels.