Here in B.A. we've been using the city's taxis to get around. Whilst driving along the Avenida Libertadores I've rediscovered my previously lapsed Catholicism, praying desperately as I wince at our taxi driver's courageous overtaking and try to ignore various HGVs speeding towards us in the middle of the road.
To tell you the truth, I've seriously considered drinking something strong before taking a cab, but my general sense of Brit just arrived in south-america paranoia has prevented me from doing so. However, I'm sure that if I was tanked up with something strong I'd maybe even quite enjoy the trip. As it is, it's a nerve-racking, white-knuckle ride.
Apparently, according to yesterday's cabbie, B.A. is one of the world's main centres of psychoanalysis. A famous psychologist once said that you could analyse peoples' minds by how they drove. I'm sure that's true, and what's more I'm sure that you can judge a society by how it drives. Do you want to see some examples?
Well, let's start with the Brits. They are really obedient, obeying the rules 100% of the time and maintaining their lane discipline. You get the feeling that they'd love to do something daring, break a rule here and there, but they only bring themselves to do it if they're on a motorway relatively free of traffic. If someone does break the rules, however, thereby going off programme, they are considered fair game and, in the case of pedestrians who cross unexpectedly far from pedestrian crossings, will even be mowed over by unrepentant drivers. "Serves them right" you can hear the drivers say, "should have obeyed the rules!".
It's like something deep down inside the British driver hates having to be so obedient, and when he (or she) sees someone breaking the rules the resulting sense of jealousy prevokes a desire to see the rule-breaker punished.
Now the Italians. Boy oh boy, I could write a book about Italian drivers.
First of all, for them driving is a way of letting off steam in the way that heavy drinking is for the Brits. So otherwise civilised, mature, responsible people (yes, both men and women) will act in otherwise impossible ways when they are behind the wheel of a car, and other people will make excuses for them! The British "Oh, he was drunk. He's not normally violent" is echoed by the Italian "Oh, it was a really fast car. He didn't mean to run into that young family at the pedestrian crossing. He loves kids!"
In Italy, women run the home and for men, the only place to let off steam in an increasingly frustrating world is on the road. The faster a man drives the more courage he is seen to have, although I suspect that the more accurate rule that the faster he drives, the smaller is his primary sexual organ.
So. on to Argentina. I can't claim to understand the nation's psyche, but I have spent the last two weeks being driven around B.A. Maybe I can understand certain aspects of their mentality from my on-the-road observations? Let me make some suggestions, which I'll then be able to test against my future experiences.
First of all, they don't consider it risky to drive close to the car in front. This isn't the Italian "Drive faster of get out of the way". No, it's less aggressive. It's more of a "Look, I'm here. Whatever you do, you need to take me into consideration". Is this the south american inferiority complex at work? "Yes, we are tucked away down there, but you must take notice of us!".
Secondly, they seem to demonstrate more lane discipline than the Italians, but then incredibly, as if there was a form of common unconscious linking them all, simultaneously cut the same corner allowing a matter of inches to be left free between each vehicle whilst travelling at high speed-kind of like the red arrows. Here they seem to be less individualistic than the Italians, instead able to work as a team. The resulting order isn't anal like the British one. After all, they are breaking the rules but, significantly, they're all breaking the rules in exactly the same way and in perfect harmony. Strange, but true. Think it'll take me at least five years here to work that one out!
Finally, they seem to have a sense of devine destiny which Italians had in their rural, Catholic, poor past and Brits had until we stopped going off to fight wars but seem to be losing in our urban peace-time present. For example, in B.A. it seems that at most crossroads the rule is this; he who arrives first, passes. This rule seems to apply irrespective of the road markings.
This rule, inevitably, leads to accidents. Indeed, our taxi was involved in one the other day in which thankfully no-one was hurt. We arrived at a crossroads, and both our taxi driver and the driver of the car arriving from our left believed to have arrived first. They both continued and inevitably collided, slowing to only about 20mph at the moment of contact.
I think it'll be safer if we buy our own car.
To tell you the truth, I've seriously considered drinking something strong before taking a cab, but my general sense of Brit just arrived in south-america paranoia has prevented me from doing so. However, I'm sure that if I was tanked up with something strong I'd maybe even quite enjoy the trip. As it is, it's a nerve-racking, white-knuckle ride.
Apparently, according to yesterday's cabbie, B.A. is one of the world's main centres of psychoanalysis. A famous psychologist once said that you could analyse peoples' minds by how they drove. I'm sure that's true, and what's more I'm sure that you can judge a society by how it drives. Do you want to see some examples?
Well, let's start with the Brits. They are really obedient, obeying the rules 100% of the time and maintaining their lane discipline. You get the feeling that they'd love to do something daring, break a rule here and there, but they only bring themselves to do it if they're on a motorway relatively free of traffic. If someone does break the rules, however, thereby going off programme, they are considered fair game and, in the case of pedestrians who cross unexpectedly far from pedestrian crossings, will even be mowed over by unrepentant drivers. "Serves them right" you can hear the drivers say, "should have obeyed the rules!".
It's like something deep down inside the British driver hates having to be so obedient, and when he (or she) sees someone breaking the rules the resulting sense of jealousy prevokes a desire to see the rule-breaker punished.
Now the Italians. Boy oh boy, I could write a book about Italian drivers.
First of all, for them driving is a way of letting off steam in the way that heavy drinking is for the Brits. So otherwise civilised, mature, responsible people (yes, both men and women) will act in otherwise impossible ways when they are behind the wheel of a car, and other people will make excuses for them! The British "Oh, he was drunk. He's not normally violent" is echoed by the Italian "Oh, it was a really fast car. He didn't mean to run into that young family at the pedestrian crossing. He loves kids!"
In Italy, women run the home and for men, the only place to let off steam in an increasingly frustrating world is on the road. The faster a man drives the more courage he is seen to have, although I suspect that the more accurate rule that the faster he drives, the smaller is his primary sexual organ.
So. on to Argentina. I can't claim to understand the nation's psyche, but I have spent the last two weeks being driven around B.A. Maybe I can understand certain aspects of their mentality from my on-the-road observations? Let me make some suggestions, which I'll then be able to test against my future experiences.
First of all, they don't consider it risky to drive close to the car in front. This isn't the Italian "Drive faster of get out of the way". No, it's less aggressive. It's more of a "Look, I'm here. Whatever you do, you need to take me into consideration". Is this the south american inferiority complex at work? "Yes, we are tucked away down there, but you must take notice of us!".
Secondly, they seem to demonstrate more lane discipline than the Italians, but then incredibly, as if there was a form of common unconscious linking them all, simultaneously cut the same corner allowing a matter of inches to be left free between each vehicle whilst travelling at high speed-kind of like the red arrows. Here they seem to be less individualistic than the Italians, instead able to work as a team. The resulting order isn't anal like the British one. After all, they are breaking the rules but, significantly, they're all breaking the rules in exactly the same way and in perfect harmony. Strange, but true. Think it'll take me at least five years here to work that one out!
Finally, they seem to have a sense of devine destiny which Italians had in their rural, Catholic, poor past and Brits had until we stopped going off to fight wars but seem to be losing in our urban peace-time present. For example, in B.A. it seems that at most crossroads the rule is this; he who arrives first, passes. This rule seems to apply irrespective of the road markings.
This rule, inevitably, leads to accidents. Indeed, our taxi was involved in one the other day in which thankfully no-one was hurt. We arrived at a crossroads, and both our taxi driver and the driver of the car arriving from our left believed to have arrived first. They both continued and inevitably collided, slowing to only about 20mph at the moment of contact.
I think it'll be safer if we buy our own car.
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