- buildings are two feet off the edge of pavement;
- if you want a drink, you stop, jump out, hold up traffic and make your purchase;
- it is acceptable to text and drive... your moped
- its the dogs' responsibility to move out of the way
- honking is a friendly form of communication, usually translated "scoot over, or this game of chicken is going to end badly for us both."
Our form of transportation mimics our economic status and subsequent vulnerability. In the States, we fret over side air bags and have evidence-less laws preventing our children from sitting in the front seat. We discuss safety mechanisms with an air of 'ethics', questioning the dangers we expose our family to in our car purchases.
For the vast majority of the world, the dangers are much more evident. Within this society, the roads are filled with Land Cruisers (for the UN, of course), Toyota trucks, Suzuki mini-vans (not to be confused with minivans), motorcycles, mopeds, bicycles and walking. Citizens of the same community, but of clearly different levels of susceptibility to the inherit dangers of the roadway. For the first world vehicles, a crash damages the exterior and causes a delay. For the father on the moped, flip flops, no helmet, and the family hugging on behind you, a minor accident can have a major physical and economic toll.There's no pithy statement to wrap this up; it is just an observation made from a few days riding through this land.