Left turns, roundabouts, potholes, weaving and other deterents to taking the road in Almaty.

It took us 8 years to get around to buying a car here. The lure of the mountains and a way to get home late at night rather than walking for ages to find a taxi, gradually overcame our commitment to "doing it like the locals" especially when more and more locals were driving. Kind of like my commitment not to wear singlet tops or shorts until I saw the Kazakh grandma in a skin tight version of the former, right outside our flat. That was the beginning of the demise into the life of luxury we now live in. First the singlet top and shorts, then the car, then out of the flat into the house on the ground and then coffee at Gloria Jeans. All a far cry from dried goats cheese, roasted millet in your tea, week old uygur bread and sitting on the floor in yurts. O how the mighty have fallen. 

Anyway back to the car. My biggest fear was driving on the right hand side of the road. That would be scary enough in the US or in Europe, but in Almaty where the lane markings seem to be more "guidelines" and where when you get to a parked car you kind of weave out from behind it, flowing gracely and hopefully without incident into the next lane of traffic rather than stopping and indicating, waiting for a break or someone to left you in like we would do in Australia. The other big road block was turning left. There are very few left turn arrows and the art is to get around the intersection when the yellow warning light starts flashing and be in the intersection before it changes to red. The problem is that the on coming traffic tries to get through till the last microsecond of their green light changing to yellow and the guys on the left are trying to turn across your bows before their light has actually turned green. Pretty narrow window of opportunity!

So lots of crashes at intersections is the rule , not the exception. I would watch Dave turning and try and work out for each intersection how many cars could on average get around. Of course you can always double up as you make your left turn and while you are sitting in the middle of the intersection waiting for the flashing yellow light, the guys behind you might decide you arn't far enough out in the intersection to help them get around on your their turn so they might double or triple up on your inside or outside or even better, come right around in front of you so that they go through before you.  In that situation we hope the cops are waiting around the corner to nab them. The cops conveniently waiting is also handy when you have your intersection fender bender.

By the time I did start driving here about 9 years ago, we had already long surpassed the early glory days when there were only 3 Almaty road rules: Don't hit anyone, don't hit anything and don't fall in any holes. To that was added : how do you tell a drunk is driving in Almaty? He drives in straight lines! ( the rest of us are driving around all the massive pot holes that come every spring due to snow freezing and breaking up the bitumen).

Our first car was  front wheel drive Audi that used to start hesitating when it idiled. So there I was mid intersection with the engine threatening to stall - put it in park and rev the accelerator so it won't die and then quickly back into drive when the yellow starts flashing and I am waiting for the guys in front of me to turn so I can slip past before the policeman nabs me or I stall in the middle again. Overall , not a confidence booster. I would drive blocks out of my way to avoid certain left turns but you can't really drive around a city all day without making the occasional left turn. I would also have to avoid the roundabout on Saina and Djandosova street. 

Round abouts are a whole new challenge of their own in Almaty. In Australia anyone IN the roundabout has right of way over anyone outside the round about so you give way as you come in. Not so here. For example there is a concept of "the main road" . If the main road runs through a round about then all the traffic on the main road has right of way on through the roundabout. The other subtle nuance is that the main road may not go straight ahead - it might curve to the left and up the hill. Just to keep us on our toes the road planners will suddenly change the right of way rule for a particular intersection to see which works best. Police (GAI) are usually conventiently  placed just past the round about so they can pick of any one who happens to be unaware of the change.

In 2001 we finally bought a reliable Mitsubishi space wagon and I found I could get through intersections without incident and began to venture further and further from home. First on Sundays , then late at night and eventually all day any where. 

Things do get worse before they get better and the better has come. After being home in Australia for a year I returned to find that our fellow drivers are now thanking eachother for allowing them to cut in  by flashing their accident lights. Women drivers didn't exist 15 yrs ago and now they fill the streets. They let eachother cut in and occasionally don't queue across the intersections. I guess everyone is sick of fender benders and in this time of "cris" who has money to fix or buy new cars. 

So take the plunge, be ready to "weave", never lose concentration for a second, be ready for the guy on your left to run across infront of you , slam on the brakes to pick up a taxi fare and be ready to have the horn blown at you constantly for all sorts of reasons. Don't lose your cool and always keep a car length ahead (although the other drivers might jump in infront of you). 

Be ready to skate up to the traffic lights on the black ice in winter. So many things to do, so little time.