“What would be a road hazard anyplace else, in the
Third World is probably the road. There are two techniques for coping with
this. One is to drive very fast so your wheels ‘get on top’ of the ruts and
your car sails over the ditches, gullies and pot holes. Predictably, this will
result in disaster. The other technique is to drive very slow. This will result
in disaster. No matter how slowly you drive into a ten-foot hole, you’re still
going to get hurt. You’ll find the locals themselves can’t make up their minds.
Either they drive at 2 mph — which they do when there’s absolutely no way to
get around them. Or else they drive at 100 mph — which they do coming right at
you when you finally get a chance to pass the guy going 2 mph.”— P.
J. O’Rourke, “Third World Driving Hits and Tips,” in Holidays in Hell: In Which Our Intrepid Reporter Travels to the World's Worst Places and Asks, "What's Funny About This" (1988)Monday, September 28, 2015
Quote of the Day (P. J. O’Rourke, on Road Hazards in the Third World)
“What would be a road hazard anyplace else, in the
Third World is probably the road. There are two techniques for coping with
this. One is to drive very fast so your wheels ‘get on top’ of the ruts and
your car sails over the ditches, gullies and pot holes. Predictably, this will
result in disaster. The other technique is to drive very slow. This will result
in disaster. No matter how slowly you drive into a ten-foot hole, you’re still
going to get hurt. You’ll find the locals themselves can’t make up their minds.
Either they drive at 2 mph — which they do when there’s absolutely no way to
get around them. Or else they drive at 100 mph — which they do coming right at
you when you finally get a chance to pass the guy going 2 mph.”— P.
J. O’Rourke, “Third World Driving Hits and Tips,” in Holidays in Hell: In Which Our Intrepid Reporter Travels to the World's Worst Places and Asks, "What's Funny About This" (1988)
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