Cyprus-Forum.com

[Niki]

After driving for nearly 25 years and in about 5 different countries I've never had an accident, not even a scratch.
I do however feel that my driving experience in Cyprus has more than any other place prepared me for the absolute worse. I can say that I'm a better driver today after driving in Cyprus than I would've been, and actually enjoy the daily lunatics coming at me and myself having to figure out how to avoid them. It's like a "Dodge' em" game really. You've just got to get into it.

Can't wait!!!

I do a lot of driving in London and around the M25 so I think I'll be fairly well prepared.

Just sound the horn at anything that moves and make sure you are at least 10 feet over the traffic lights line when they're on red. Oh and ignore zebra crossings and accelerate at the pedestrians who are stupid enought to cross the road on one (they probably tourists anyway) - is that right?

[RichardB]

And dont forget you must drive with one hand holding the roof of your car on

While using your mobile ........

And smoking a cigarette.........

Whist bellowing Kerata at all the other road uses.....who have been stupid enough to stop at the red light and then have the audacity to wait for the green before commencing their journey thereby making you (the most important person on the road) late for work

[JenLawler]

haha...Brings back memories of near death experiences in the car with my ex..However I can't drive, I'm just one of those pedestrians you speed at. Kept me fit though.

[Crivens]

Just sound the horn at anything that moves and make sure you are at least 10 feet over the traffic lights line when they're on red. Oh and ignore zebra crossings and accelerate at the pedestrians who are stupid enought to cross the road on one (they probably tourists anyway) - is that right?

Yep, thats right on the nose. Apart from the fact that a lot of people here sound the horn at anything that doesn't move too. I mean it is quite common for cars waiting to pull out onto the road from, say, a parking space or side road, to be honked at by cars on the road. It's like "Erm, yes I can see you. It's called a window....".

Personally, when walking, at the pedestrian crossings I normally do a mental evaluation of oncoming traffic. The older the person or the car then forget it. Wait before stepping on the road. Tyres here seem to be for life (judging by the amount of screeches I hear), so don't expect the car to stop in time if a bit older. If it is a woman then you can almost bet she is on a phone and talking no notice of the road. So don't step on the road. Everything else and you *should* be ok if you do it with plenty of notice. And the vehicle isn't a taxi. Or a 4x4. Or a motorbike. Or a scooter (although they will probably be killed by a car before they hit you). Or a truck. Or a Merc (what is it with old men's cars here???).... Just don't cross the road....

Best car I've seen though is a convertible Ferrari, that goes up and down here most days. You can normally see it outside Costa when the weather is nice. Probably best not to cross the road in front of him either...

Cheers

[devil]

Waited at a light-controlled pedestrian crossing in Makarios III Av. in Larnaca. Woman with baby in push chair waiting on the other side. Lights turn green for me and I see traffic on my side stopping so proceed across. Half way across, car on other side comes zooming through on red, missing both me on his offside and the the push chair on his nearside by <30 cm. He had ample visibility of the lights on red (yes, the bulb was working, I checked). However, he got a fright because I brought my fist down hard on the roof of his car (and satisfactorily dented it!). It must have made a helluva din inside the car. But did he stop to see whether he had hit anything (rather than be hit by me)? Did he hell! For all he could have known, the kid in the push chair might have been spread-eagled across the road. He just zoomed away with his foot hard on the metal.

[Crivens]

Hah, nice one! Would have been better with a baseball bat, but hey...

Yeah, what a lot of these idiots don't realise is that most people who drive like idiots tend to be in a Barryboy car, and it is easily identifiable from any other, especially when there are not that many cars in the area. I mean I can easily spot and remember at least a dozen cars that I see quite often in Limassol. There is something about shopping trolleys with black alloys, super big spoilers, Japanese performance stickers down the side (completely for show with nothing actually under the bonnet, even if it could fit), and a noise like a Harrier taking off (although it's all for show, with nothing more than a lawnmower to power it which is already mostly used by the stereo) that basically sticks in the mind. All it takes is for someone with a shorter fuse than me and it won't be hard to track down one or two of them and take a bat to those alloys and tinted windows that actually costs more than the car itself.

Cheers

[devil]

Don't go around with baseball bats, as a general rule. Unfortunately, I don't suppose the dent was serious, as it is very easy a) to dent roofs of most cars and b) to push it back again from the inside.

[Crivens]

With any luck you dented his head as well. Better for him to have the brains of a five year old than to run people over

Cheers

[ge0rg10]

The problem with drivers in cyprus is they think that the rules of the road dont apply to them, they dont stop at traffic lights and they dont give right of way. The best thing they do though is that there is no such thing as an orderly que in cyprus. go to a shop to buy something you dont que up you push anyone and everyone to get to a till lol

[Crivens]

Heh, after all that I said about crossing the road (on a pedestrian crossing) I was walking to the shops today and went to cross the pedestrian crossing. The cars on my side started slowing down, so I started walking across the road. Half way across I noticed that the bloke in the shopping trolley lady car coming the other way (who had plenty of time to see me BTW) was breaking a bit more than normal (I mean he was breaking, but looking back on it I think he thought I would be sprinting across the road so didn't want to break any more than he had to; is break discs and pads really expensive here or something? Obviously tyres are like golden nuggets from the sound of screeching bald tyres I hear every day). I crossed the road with no incident, but then the bloke winds down the passenger window and starts shouting at me. I mean me. The pedestrian. Who was on a pedestrian crossing. I mean am I missing something? I didn't understand what he was saying so I took one pace towards the car showing the internationaly known hand sign of intent. You know the one with the middle finger. He got the message and zoomed off (probably jogging pace). I mean c'mon...

Cheers