Car Hit
It was around midnight, a couple of days ago, when I was having coffee with my friends at Cups & Kilos. While thinking about how good the coffee is, and enjoying it, an old lady was hit by a very speedy car in front of us, while she was crossing the street in front of the Radisson SAS. I won’t detail more about what happened, as I don’t want to recall it, but basically, the old lady was smashed, and probably dead. Two of my friends who think they have a strong heart and stomach crossed the street, to check if they can be of any help, as for me, and another friend, we preferred to stay away. Obviously, we spent the rest of the evening talking about about cars, accidents, and hits.
Recent statistics show that a person dies every 11 hours in Jordan from Car accidents, another one says that 80% of the people hit by a car are either children or old people. Now if this is not scary I don’t know what is. We blame everyone for the bad driving experiences in the streets of Jordan but ourselves. What’s worse, is that we need a tragedy to hit near us to learn from it. That is if we ever learned.
I am not sure I will drive in the same way I did before after what I saw. I hope that I will never forget it, because I shouldn’t. As for you, please drive safely.
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July 18th, 2005 at 5:50 pm
Ouch Isam!! We always hear about accidents and always condemn the way others drive but on the road all the rules vanish!! I used to think that I would be a peaceful driver who respects the code, but now I find myself blending in with the way everyone drives!
Thanks for the reminder that we don’t have to wait for it to happen next to us so we could learn and slow down!
July 18th, 2005 at 5:52 pm
the statistics speak for themselves.. if speeding and reckless driving aren’t addressed the problem will only grow. there is a responsibility on the pedestrians as well, they simply can’t keep crossing the streets from wherever they see fit. just look at the pedestrian bridges and tunnels that have been constructed, their presence alone is not a good enough reason for pedestrians to use them, the Amaneh or even the Baladeyeh in Irbid has to come and blockade the median making the bridge/tunnel the only way to cross the street before they’re used.
July 18th, 2005 at 8:23 pm
Well, If I were you I wouldn’t blame the driver, crossing the street in front of the Radisson SAS is not a good idea, Drivers there getting ready to enter the tunnel or to get out of the tunnel, it’s a well known place for tragedical accidents.
July 18th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
Issam,
The same things happened to me in Saudi. Actually every weekend, i used to go out and every weekend you would see a fatal car accident with couple of dead “guys” on the street, very soon, I stopped going out on weekends, because it was too stressful. But the worst one was somewhere near my coupound, we were going home and two teenagers, were crossing the street, and a very speedy car took one of them, I will never forget that scene… till today, I get the chills remembering… the reaction of the other one kid was so unforgettable.. how he put his arms over his head, He was wearing a red shirt, and a cap on his head, even though it was night… I could almost see his shock, his thinking….. I went through the scene over and over again for days…the car stopped and the guy in the car came back running to see the damage… I never knew what happened.. soon I heard ambulance, but i was crying hysterically and i had to be driven home….. It just makes you think, that our life is like a candle, the fire could be blown out in a second….
July 18th, 2005 at 9:16 pm
Jad, I strongly blame the driver. If he was driving within the speed limit allowed in that street, the old lady would have much higher chance to live if hit, and he would have a much higher chance to stop or avoid it. We do not take car speeding seriously, and I think it is time we should.
July 18th, 2005 at 9:21 pm
Oh my God. This is horrible. Personally I blame the municipality for ignoring the rights of pedestrians and failing to provide them with safe places to walk on!
July 19th, 2005 at 12:46 am
To be honest ? I’d like to try and cross the streets in Jordan the same way I do in Egypt and see what’ll happen ;-)
July 23rd, 2005 at 10:23 am
More rules and regulations are not going to solve the problem. One has to seriously consider the cultural differences between the people in Jordan or any Arab country and the people in Europe. One culture respects rules and follows them, sometimes too closely, while the other completely ignores them.
People talk about the horrors of driving in Beirut where people would be seriously upset with those who actually stop at a red traffic light! I mean, come on!
A possible solution to speeding would be the creation of uncertainty for drivers. I don’t mean the possible uncertainty of some old lady crossing the street every now and then, but the constant uncertainty.
I believe Hans Monderman has come up with the perfect solution for most urban areas. He calls it ’shared space’. It is quite a revolutionary way of thinking about roads (although it would seem more logical if you really think hard about it).
Here are a few links that might explain:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0127/p01s03-woeu.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/01/21/news/profile.html
Enjoy.