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Published: June 21st 2012
Driving in Tanzania
In the 1990s few people had their own cars. Drivers were professional drivers who were hired by government officials or other salaried people. Five minutes on Tanzanian roads would have explained the need for professional drivers. Now, however, the rising middle class have changed the roadways. Cars abound.
Driving schools don’t. It is thought if you can drive a cart and oxen, you inherently can drive a car.
If you insist on driving, a few fundamental facts and suggestions are hereby provided.
Driving on the left
People drive on the left in England, drive on the right in Canada, and drive on both sides in Tanzania. You must maneuver to drive to avoid pot holes, pedestrians, goats, cows, piki pikis, bicycles, buses, dala dalas and other road users. When you are not avoiding any of the common obstructions, you should make your way to the left side of the road.
Driving over animals
Experienced drivers in Tanzania, of which there are few, can’t count the many dead chickens, goats and cows that have lost their lives under their wheels. If you are a new driver to Tanzania and are unlucky enough to make your first kill, keep going. Fast. You must not stop or you will end up paying much more than the cow was worth and probably to someone who is not the rightful owner.
Night driving in Tanzania
Drive only between 6:15 a.m. and 6:15 pm. Night driving risks are numerous---vehicles with no lights and animals with no lights, breakdowns in the centre of the road. If you were to break down at night, it would be unfortunate as your possessions, your vehicle parts and perhaps your vehicle would all be subject to being nationalized by local citizens.
Use of the Horn
Private cars are relatively new to Tanzanian nationals. Each driver has a love affair with the horn. Horn honking has its own code. The timbre of the honk and the length of the honk convey a variety of messages. You will soon recognize the aggressive “get out of my way” honk, the “habari gani” honk and the “elephants ahead on the road “honk. It may take a while to recognize the “rains are soon coming “honk or the “petrol station has no petrol “ honk. Like any new language learner, it’s important for you to remember that language ability has nothing to do with intelligence However, learning the Tanzanian honking codes may save your life. They may be the road map for beginning your trip and the key that allows you to survive the Tanzanian roads. The beginning driver may want to experiment with different honk indicators, syllabic honks and stress honks. Passengers may invest in ear plugs.
Use of Lights
Do not let the use of vehicle lights on the roadway confuse you. Oncoming vehicles often have flashing headlights, flashing signal lights, flashing emergency lights or all three. Stay calm. It only means that a vehicle is approaching. The use of the right hand signal light on the truck you may be following means one of three things:
1. It is going to turn right in front of you
2. It is going to swerve right to avoid danger
3. It is unsafe for you to pass on the right.
Always assume all three possibilities.
The use of the left signal light , however, is much simpler. It means that it is safe to pass. But, don’t count on it.
Loaded Vehicles
Watch carefully when approaching open-backed lorries, pick-ups or daladalas. They are always overloaded and their cargo/passengers are never secured properly on board. You may be in danger of having a bag of charcoal, a sack of sisal fibres or, worse yet, a Tanzanian citizen fall into your path.
Directional Signs
Tanzanians have erected directional signs to drive wazungus crazy. Do not rely on signs and, if you falter and do, assume the opposite to what your first-world mind would expect.
Tips for Driving in Urban Centres
For a mzungu to become a proficient driver in Tanzania, learning to drive in Dar es Salaam or Arusha is the best learning ground.
<!---->· <!---->Pay no attention to parking meters. They have been broken for years.
<!---->· <!---->Pay no attention to “No Parking” signs. Nobody does.
<!---->· <!---->Pay no attention to parking lot attendants. They are likely self-appointed
<!---->· <!---->Pay little attention to traffic lights. They are often broken or stuck on red
<!---->· <!---->Pay considerable attention to traffic cops.. They wear clean white uniforms and are located at three of the busiest intersections during rush hours.
<!---->· <!---->Don’t hesitate to drive over the centre median. The city engineers should have known better
<!---->· <!---->Pay no attention to sidewalks. There are none
<!---->· <!---->Keep your side windows rolled up. Curious hands have been known to be tempted by wrist watches and hats.
<!---->· <!---->Post a guard in the back of your pick-up truck if you must drive with anything in the back
<!---->· <!---->And finally and most important keep a pocketful of shillingis to give to beggars and the physically disabled who approach your car in a traffic line-up. It will always make you feel better to be generous.
Service Stations
Always fill your tank when it reaches half way, especially if you are going on safari in game parks. Always check your own oil, battery, and radiator. Be patient when requesting a receipt for your fuel purchase. Lock your gas tank.
One caution--roads that appear on maps are not necessarily found on the surface of the earth, or if they are, they may have been washed out during the last rainy season.
Road Construction
Road construction is road confusion in the land of Tanzania. Women officials wave red flags with great enthusiasm. Don’t stop. They are just being friendly; or at worst, you may be entering a high HIV positive stretch of the roadway. Construction signal lights don’t work. One way sections are controlled by one Tanzanian who will have a two-way radio, but nobody to contact. Watch for fresh tar, especially on your clothes. You will soon learn which donor country lays the smoother pavement and the better rain drains, but then, you don’t have a choice, anyway.
Vehicle security
When you stop for refreshments, sit where you can see your vehicle. When you stop for the night, locate your vehicle behind fences preferably with broken glass or
Some directions, are culturally appropriate to ask and worth asking. Knowing the whereabouts of a choo, sometimes referred to in urban areas as the WC, is after all, often necessary. Choos are placed in a variety of locations, mostly unsuspecting ones. You may ask, “Choo?” or the more polite, “Please be so kind as to tell me where the water closet is.” There is danger is speaking Swahili too well as the response may be beyond your understanding. Given that the locale of the choo may be out of doors, through the corridor to the back alley and around the building next door to a structure without a sign, you may want to carry a notebook in which you can draw a map. barbed wire on top, and of course, padlocked gates. If you are travelling with a guard, have him sleep in the vehicle. Always keep a Masai club close to the driver. Lock your vehicle if you are going to leave it for more than five seconds and hire a street guard who you must tip well to watch over it.
Some Essential Swahili for the Road
Simama-stop
Hatari-danger
Barabara mbya-bad road
Bas-far enough
Endesha pole pole-slow down
Jaze-fill up
Asking Questions
On the Road
If you become lost, disoriented or confused about your whereabouts, which you will undoubtedly do as there are no road signs, directional signs or similar symbols, you may be tempted to ask directions. Don’t.
Tanzanians like to please. They will always agree with you. If you ask it if Magugu is this way, it is. If you ask if it is that way, it is. In Tanzania is extremely rude to give a negative answer. Tanzanians would never want to disappoint you by giving you an answer you don’t want to hear.
Sometimes when driving and you have stopped when the road appears to end, you might encounter a helpful person noticing your confusion. If you respond to their offer for help, you may find yourself with several visitors accompanying you in your vehicle also providing you with helpful directions. This may be their first time in a vehicle. They may develop motion sickness. When they get to their destination, they will be helpful in pointing out the direction they think you might want to go. Tanzanians like to believe they know best what you are thinking.
The CHOO Experience
Choos come in many forms, but you can be guaranteed none of them will have toilet paper and many will have some form of bidet especially if it is the rainy season. The world is divided into user of paper and user of water. Tanzania uses water. The bidet may be a bucket of water, a tap or a spout. It depends whether you are in an urban area or rural, an area where previous wazungus have dared to tread. You will soon understand why you don’t eat with your left hand. Choos in Tanzania seem to have doors which never close. You may want to bring a friend.
If you are lucky enough to find a choos with water and a toilet that you recognize, you may spend several minutes remembering your elementary physics determining how it is flushed. Often however, the WC will be a hole. Squat toilets are the norm. They are basically a hole at ground level over which you squat and into which you aim. Not everyone’s aim is accurate. Determining your aim is most important. Women visitors will find that wearing loose fitting dresses with pockets for tissue and hand sanitizer very handy. Pooing requires some thought before doing so. The trick for women is to hitch your skirt somewhere secure on your body, place your right hand against the wall to steady yourself and use your left hand for cleaning. You will remind yourself of how you should have practiced your yoga poses before coming to Tanzania. Men or women silly enough to wear pants have a different thought process to consider. Remember that the floors are usually wet. Not everyone aims well. You will want to practice different configurations until you get it right. Dropping your pants completely and holding them in front may stop you from soiling your pants. Note that Laundromats are not common. Cargo pants with side pockets hold hand sanitizer containers very well.
Choo kiko wapi? Where is the WC? You may be accompanied onthe journey. Keep head down and eyes on the path. Be prepared with tissue. Consider it an adventure!
Should you find a choo with hot and cold water, remember that blue means hot and red means cold. Do not ask directions if you are in a two or three star hotel for the hot water tank. If there is one you will find it or hear it. Remember to turn it on before you go to bed. You might have a warm shower in the morning if the pump is still working.
Some choos in Guest Houses combine toilets with showers. In that case, clear the cubicle of all that you don't want to get wet. Store your clothes elsewhere. If you are lucky enough to find a separate shower don't expect there to be a place for soap, towels, your clothes of flip flops. Prepare your self beforehand for the experience!
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flossiey
non-member comment
very true i couldnt agree more
how very true soo funny but now that am here experiencing this its fliming nightmare. i had to learn to roll up my trousers to knees height then drop them and hold on to the and do the perfect squart. to pee or i try and hold my wee all day long till i can find a westernised toilet.