"Have you or someone you love been seriously injured in an accident?"
Perhaps it is the curse of my professional training, but every time I venture out of my apartment I can't help but notice that Kazakhstan is a trial lawyer's dream. Uncovered manholes abound. Walkways are rarely graded properly, so that when it rains, giant puddles form everywhere--I can't wait to see them ice over in the winter. The stairways in many public buildings are made of marble or other slick materials, just begging to claim victims when wet. You can easily find expired goods for sale at the grocery store. There is no such thing as a closed construction site--if you need to get somewhere, you cut through and walk amidst the trucks, debris, and construction equipment.
The swings on the swing set in the courtyard of my apartment building are connected to the crossbar by long straight poles with a loop at the top. I regularly watch little kids stand on the swings and develop enough momentum to swing around the bar 360°-- with parental supervision! (I always dreamed of doing this as a kid, but I think it's virtually impossible when the swings are connected by chains). No insurance company in the United States would ever insure an apartment complex with a playground like that.
The traffic is a whole another story. I know it's clichéd to talk about how crazy the drivers are in other countries, but I was not prepared for the speed, chaos and aggressiveness I see here. It's as if all the drivers are 16 year old boys with new driver's licenses and new Camaros (an appropriate metaphor, I think -- widespread private vehicle ownership is a relatively new phenomenon in Kazakhstan).
Drivers race from intersection to intersection, and if it even looks like you might be in their way, they'll start honking. Lane markings are a joke-- if you leave a tiny bit of space on your right or left, someone will try to pass you. Basically, if your car fits, it's a lane (interestingly, drivers don't stay in the lane lines even when there's no other traffic around). Nobody will ever let you in. If you need to change lanes, or turn left at a busy street, you essentially have to inch your way into the lane or intersection until opposing traffic is forced to let you through.
If drivers at a red light don't feel like waiting in a line to turn left, they'll simply pull up to the left of the waiting cars, creating their own left turn lane, until there's just a tiny lane remaining for any oncoming traffic. And you always have to watch out for the most menacing cars on the road--the right hand drive imports from Japan. The fact that these drivers cannot see around cars in front of them does not stop them from passing or turning left. The government is finally talking about banning further import of right hand drive cars, though the existing ones will be allowed to stay.
Despite all this craziness, you frequently see pedestrians weaving through stopped cars at intersections, or standing in the center line waiting for a break in traffic (or worse yet, using the centerline as a sidewalk). I've never been so afraid to cross the street, even at a designated crosswalk.
I'm glad I bought a large vehicle--I think fender benders are inevitable, and I see them all the time (my demolition derby experience may come in handy). I learned recently that if you're involved in an accident and you move your car before the police arrive, you'll automatically be found at fault. Thus, drivers leave their damaged vehicles sitting in the road, which causes additional honking and congestion and aggressive attempts to maneuver around the damaged vehicles. And the police are not exactly prompt--I've seen drivers waiting for the police on my way to dinner, and the same drivers still waiting on my way home from dinner. For this reason, many accidents are settled for cash on the spot, without calling the police.
I imagine the United States was like this at one point, and it took hundreds of years to gradually develop a system of laws and habits that make it a relatively safe country. I never thought I'd be an advocate for trial lawyers, and I think the system in the United States has gotten out of control, but I have to believe that behavior here would change quickly if companies and individuals worried a little more about being sued.
The swings on the swing set in the courtyard of my apartment building are connected to the crossbar by long straight poles with a loop at the top. I regularly watch little kids stand on the swings and develop enough momentum to swing around the bar 360°-- with parental supervision! (I always dreamed of doing this as a kid, but I think it's virtually impossible when the swings are connected by chains). No insurance company in the United States would ever insure an apartment complex with a playground like that.
The traffic is a whole another story. I know it's clichéd to talk about how crazy the drivers are in other countries, but I was not prepared for the speed, chaos and aggressiveness I see here. It's as if all the drivers are 16 year old boys with new driver's licenses and new Camaros (an appropriate metaphor, I think -- widespread private vehicle ownership is a relatively new phenomenon in Kazakhstan).
Drivers race from intersection to intersection, and if it even looks like you might be in their way, they'll start honking. Lane markings are a joke-- if you leave a tiny bit of space on your right or left, someone will try to pass you. Basically, if your car fits, it's a lane (interestingly, drivers don't stay in the lane lines even when there's no other traffic around). Nobody will ever let you in. If you need to change lanes, or turn left at a busy street, you essentially have to inch your way into the lane or intersection until opposing traffic is forced to let you through.
If drivers at a red light don't feel like waiting in a line to turn left, they'll simply pull up to the left of the waiting cars, creating their own left turn lane, until there's just a tiny lane remaining for any oncoming traffic. And you always have to watch out for the most menacing cars on the road--the right hand drive imports from Japan. The fact that these drivers cannot see around cars in front of them does not stop them from passing or turning left. The government is finally talking about banning further import of right hand drive cars, though the existing ones will be allowed to stay.
Despite all this craziness, you frequently see pedestrians weaving through stopped cars at intersections, or standing in the center line waiting for a break in traffic (or worse yet, using the centerline as a sidewalk). I've never been so afraid to cross the street, even at a designated crosswalk.
I'm glad I bought a large vehicle--I think fender benders are inevitable, and I see them all the time (my demolition derby experience may come in handy). I learned recently that if you're involved in an accident and you move your car before the police arrive, you'll automatically be found at fault. Thus, drivers leave their damaged vehicles sitting in the road, which causes additional honking and congestion and aggressive attempts to maneuver around the damaged vehicles. And the police are not exactly prompt--I've seen drivers waiting for the police on my way to dinner, and the same drivers still waiting on my way home from dinner. For this reason, many accidents are settled for cash on the spot, without calling the police.
I imagine the United States was like this at one point, and it took hundreds of years to gradually develop a system of laws and habits that make it a relatively safe country. I never thought I'd be an advocate for trial lawyers, and I think the system in the United States has gotten out of control, but I have to believe that behavior here would change quickly if companies and individuals worried a little more about being sued.
posted by Cosmic Stan at 7:03 PM
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