So, apparently, I was asleep during most of the roads in Tanzania. The massage of the roads are less of massages and more terrifying bumps that threaten to overturn vehicles. Almost all cars are Toyotas, although I saw a sign for GM trucks on a billboard. Gas is ~$4, and only BP and Shell are apparently reliable, for their are many local gas stations, but most of these gasses are watered down (they originate from oil in the Sudan). Finally, according to a civil engineer on our tour, the massive potholes that seem to already appear on unfinished roads are due to poor quality asphalt that was used to
"pave" the roads.
Traffic is not just congested and chaotic, it is legally screwy. Vehicles have different maximum speed limits, as designated by stickers on their bumpers. 80 kph for small buses, 65 kph for trucks, and 110 kph for small cars. And corruption among cops affects traffic to a heavy extent. Traffic violations are a whopping $70 dollar fine (including talking on your cell phone if you are a PEDESTRIAN walking across the street). For perspective, a good job working at a bank nets a Kenyan $400 a month. But, despite the numerous signs to report police corruption, traffic cops will get in your car if you make any violations and not leave until you pay them a bribe. How do I know? Because it happened yesterday when Michelle and I were the last people on a bus that was going to drop us off at our hotel. Our driver made an illegal turn and then stayed in our vehicle driving us all around town until our driver paid him off. Our driver was not happy and the officer's creepy smile and plea to us passengers that he was just helping the drivers with directions still sticks in my mind vividly. I have never been as happy for American government stability as I was
at that point.
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