Sunday, November 19, 2006

Driving in Greece - A crash course



As I have lessons all over the city I usually travel around Thessaloniki on a Vespa. It's next to impossible to park a car in many areas, and especially in the centre. On the other hand going by public transport is not really an options as it is often slow and unreliable. A journey that takes me 25 minutes by bike would need 1.5 to 2 hours by bus, so it's not feasible.

I found this video on YouTube that was taken in Greece, probably off a traffic camera in Athens. I had a similar collision last year when some idiot did an illegal upturn right in front of me and as a result I went flying over the hood of his car. luckily, I suffered little more than cuts and bruises, though the bike was a write - off. Still, unlike the guy in the video (who was even luckier) I always wear a helmet.

The worst thing about this is that when the driver gets out of the car, instead of asking about the victim or trying to get help she tries to defend her actions!! Even though she'd run a red light (according to the guy).

By the way, Greek law clearly states that wearing a helmet is mandatory. Now if only we can get the cops to figure that out it would be a start.

2 comments:

Kassandra said...

I've heard that not even the nomarxious what's his name (of the yoghurt in the face fame) bothers to wear a helmet - he feels the same way most Greeks probably do: it'll mess up his hair!
Anyway this video is frightening. I can't get over how the guy, after flipping over the roof of the car, lands on his feet just like a cat!

teacher dude said...

Yep, him along with half the government. "Don't do as I do, do as I say".

I'm amazed he got up at all let alone walk and talk.