Aden Speedway

Fasting during Ramadan ends with the Magrib call to prayer. At the beginning of the month that call was around 6:30 and it has slowly moved earlier as the month as progressed. Life in Aden slows down noticeably as that time approaches. People, tired from a day of work and fasting, make their way home early leaving the streets empty and quiet. Too quiet.

Empty and quiet except for the few employees and bus drivers that worked later and are itching to get home. The mixture of an open road and an empty stomach produces some wicked fast driving. I had the trill of traveling to a friend's home around that time a few days ago and needless to say, it was the fastest trip to his house I had made.

I arrived safely but now may be an appropriate moment to mention the absence of a seat belt culture in Yemen. I am laughed at when I instinctively reach for the seat belt and usually there is not one to be found as it has been stuffed underneath the seat. This prevailing attitude predictably and sadly correlates with shocking numbers of fatal car accidents in Yemen. Roads in disrepair, high speeds, and not wearing a seat belt claim too many Yemeni lives.

I wonder if the interest or infrastructure exists to conduct a shock advertisement campaign to motivate drivers and passengers into wearing their seat belts. I don't think 'click it' and 'ticket' rhyme in Arabic so that slogan won't work unfortunately. What about ticketing drivers that don't wear their belts? It's likely that won't work with Yemen's strange ticket system. More on that later.