IS it just me or has there been an increase in road rage in Jeddah in the last few weeks. Yes, I know that the annual Summer Festival has been on, schools are closed, and the city is filled with visitors many of whom while driving either do not know where they are going or are having animated debates with the passengers in their car about where they might want to be going. And of course as the name Summer Festival would indicate, it is indeed the summer with temperatures in the 40s, and a car left in the sun able to be used to fry the proverbial egg in a couple of minutes. And there are also all the usual potholes, traffic lights that seem to be on the blink, and road construction underway. But even with the onslaught of summer visitors, the dramatic increase in the temperature, and the malfunction of the city's traffic infrastructure, is road rage on the rise, or is it just me who seems to be more bothered by the never ending drama unfolding on Jeddah's highways and byways? The other morning, I went to my usual petrol station only to find that it was mysteriously closed. As my tank was almost empty, I hurried down the street to find another station and it was also closed. What was going on? Were we being subjected to the same kind of petrol strikes that were happening in other parts of the world; was there suddenly a shortage of oil in the country? My mind raced around a track of possibilities none of which made any sense. No, this was Saudi Arabia. This is where oil comes from. And yet two petrol stations on the same street were cordoned off with a sort of crime scene investigation tape, clearly closed, as if for prayers, and this was just the middle of the morning. I used my mobile to call someone who had a shop near one of the stations and learned that the owner of the station had not paid his electricity bill for months on end and today was the cutoff date. But what of the other station? Apparently they were both owned by the same man and he had not paid that bill either. Just keep driving around, my friend said, you will find another station open. And indeed he was right. I drove to another station and as my tank was being filled I wondered why I had jumped to conclusions and become frenzied over an occurrence which, although unusual, did have a simple explanation. Was it the weather? Then, my petrol tank filled, I continued on my way to the office, only to find myself in an incredible, and inexplicable traffic jam on a large street off Palestine Road. The three wide lanes on my side of the divided street had been reduced to one, or slightly less than one. Of course in time honored Jeddah fashion, the cars attempting to pass had formed themselves into at least four lanes in the three lane area, and as we crawled along the amount and quality of the noise created by the assortment of horns possessed by the vehicles rivaled any congregation of alley cats on a back fence at midnight. Again my internal temperature started to rise to the level of that outside my air conditioned car. What was causing this interminable backup of traffic: a traffic light malfunction, a police check, a horrible accident? As the four lanes of slowly crawling traffic attempted to merge and squeeze through on the verge of the outside lane, it finally became clear that what was causing the bottleneck was another Jeddah phenomenon: the double parking syndrome. Except that in this case it was triple and quadruple parking outside of a girl's school where presumably, since school children are on holiday, drivers were waiting for lady teachers. Well, yes, it was hot, and they were ladies and could therefore not be expected to walk especially in such heat, and the school did not provide a parking lot where the drivers could wait until they were called for. However, one glance at the other side of the divided street revealed that the entire length of that side of the street was empty. Drivers could easily have parked there and waited for a call on their mobiles. But in Jeddah the only accepted strategy is to park as close to your final destination as possible. Double parking? Don't think twice, it's all right. And if you are merely waiting in the car, well then, feel free to create as many lanes of stationary vehicles as you can. This phenomenon is not restricted to schools for girls, or boys for that matter; it exists all over the city. Just ask yourself how many small shopping complexes or office blocks you see being built everywhere. A few years ago these were odd sized empty lots stuck in the middle of semi residential areas. Then with the onset of the construction boom, one day they became construction sites and finally proudly displayed logos of the businesses that were meant to open there. Bright lasers lit up the sky on opening night, no expense was spared and the only thing that was forgotten was adequate parking space. For in front of each of these shops or blocks hoping to receive hundreds of customers, there was room for only10 or 15 cars. So can people be blamed when they resort to double and triple parking? The rule of thumb seems to be: never drive on and find a space for your car and walk back to a shop, a fast food outlet, a bank, whatever, if you can simply double park. After all you only intend to disrupt the ongoing traffic for a short time. And if it turns into an hour or so for some reason beyond your control, well then, Maa'leesh. Really, you have to laugh. __
