Writing. Living. Moving.

I’ve lived in Germany as an adult for almost six months now. Since my childhood many things have changed, but some have remained the same – for example, I don’t think German preciseness will die, ever. At least not when it comes to pedestrians. The other day I stood on the sidewalk at an intersection, waiting for the light to turn green. Two other people were also waiting. Technically, traffic was moving so slow that I could have bounced across the road between two vehicles approaching the zebra crossing. I was impatient but kept standing still, thinking that I shouldn’t scare the poor Germans waiting with me to death by walking out on the road. As soon as the flow of traffic stopped, I walked across despite the red light. As I reached the other side, I turned around and the two Germans that had been waiting with me, slowly looked to the right, looked to the left, assuring that no traffic was approaching even though the light had by the time turned green! The situation reminded me of last summer.

I would have never behaved like this in Kosovo. Standing still at an intersection, no matter what speed the traffic was moving in, would have been ridiculous. If people would behave with German preciseness in Kosovo traffic, the amount of hurt pedestrians would tripple in no time! I quickly had to learn that sometimes the only way of staying safe in Prishtina traffic was to move instead of patiently wait for my turn because of the simple fact that there is no “my turn” – there is only something called “coordination”. Both driving in Kosovo and being a pedestrian requires an understanding for the art of true cooperation.

Traffic in Kosovo is… interesting. Newly arrived to the country, you will, at some point, end up behind a slow tractor, a horse-drawn cart, a “Kosovo Harley” or a wedding caravan on even the major highways and you will ask yourself what on earth is going on. Once you realise that it is a fact of life that there is no way of getting away from these situations and no point in even trying to get out of the traffic jam mess, you are ready to receive the diploma of understanding Kosovo traffic. Both the “Kosovo Harley” and the wedding caravan can be seen in the picture above, taken on a sunny Sunday in July 2009. This is the month when all the diaspora comes back to Kosovo for summer holiday and half of them seem to get married during this time. The typical wedding caravan never drives faster than 50km/h, no matter what road they are on, constantly blowing the horn to attract attention and to celebrate the happiness over the newly wed couple.

I had a good laugh when a Kosovar friend my age sent me a list making fun of Kosovo traffic and Kosovar drivers. The list needs to be read with a good portion of irony and humor. I experienced everything on this list – as a pedestrian but also as a driver.

Inofficial traffic rules of Kosovo:
1. You need to know how to blow the horn before you start driving.
2. It’s OK to just stop in the middle of the road if you see someone you know and want to talk to on the sidewalk.
3. Sidewalks do not exist for pedestrians, they are for parking (and driving).
4. Cutting other vehicles off in any situation is totally acceptable.
5. To avoid all pot holes, swerving into other vehicles and pedestrians is sometimes necessary.
6. If you want to drive in Kosovo, you have to learn how to park over the curb.
7. When traffic comes to a complete stop – blow the horn.
8. When overtaking vehicles, the traffic in the other lane should get out of the way. If they don’t, just blow the horn.
9. Wear the seatbelt only if you feel like it.
10. The safety of pedestrians is not important.
12. You can drive wherever by flashing the lights and blowing the horn.
13. If an accident occurs, it’s always the other driver’s fault.
14. Parking is allowed anywhere, at all times. Even in the middle of the road.
15. A car that doesn’t have a horn is a useless car. The horn is the most important part of the car.

Photo courtesy: Anna Wiman.