do you still still drive like mad men over there

[hank2222]

i made the mistake of sitting in the front seat of the jeep on time on partol with the mp unit that we where training with over there.,.
instead of sitting in the back of the jeep area
the guy driveing thought it was pretty funny when he looked over and saw me white knuckleing the dashboard grip and started to laugh and say to the others in herbew about me being sacred of his driveing..
no i just did not like the big trucks trying come into my lap when he was changeing lanes on the highway..
the rest of the time when i worked with him as the driver i stayed in the back area of the jeep and just held on when he was driveing..
the only time i did mind his driveing was on the border doing frence checks
he kept us from getting shot at with his driveing...
the others told me that was why he was in so many car wrecks with his personal car and it look like a wreck that someone had take a ball peen hammer and knocked out the dents and others parts to make it work there
i do remember that the bus system was pretty good and being able to hitch hike do the road with a weapon slung across you back was not a problem ..
i told someone back home in tx about that and they thought i was nuts intill i showed them my pictures from there..

[panzermk2]

Yes they do! AND I love it!

Having learned how to drive in Chicago playing chicken with Taxi cabs My driving habits usually leave my passengers from areas outside of places like Chicago and New York white knuckling it. Over there my driving habits fit rite in. FYI Always have a cup of coffee in my hand when dodging fuel tankers, bus's and FIGHTING the urge to take out the scooter twits zipping in and out of traffic.

[hank2222]

they warned me about the driveing there when we got the plane at 3.am in the morning the first time i was there...
i did not belive the person that was driveing that the idf guys where bad drivers there..

[rafi]

Of course we do! In fact, I'm drinking some chicken soup while talking on the phone and texting this - and all while passing someone on the right.

But I have to go now, it is my driving students turn behind the wheel.

[hank2222]

very funny

[panzermk2]

But so TRUE!!!!!!!!

[milluim]

ha ha
I remember I got the night flight from London to TA
arrived at 5 in the morning too early for check in at my hotel
so off wandering I went got to a crossing and I had the green man
But that didnt matter to the tow truck the bus and push bike i was bottom of the food chain!!
Every time I crossed next I just closed my eyes and said Inshallah

Magic

[shelory]

well its not that bad here but drivers can be quite bad if they wanted to be

[hank2222]

try being lds or chuch of latter day saints and when get ask about that when you are trying to drive and tell them no we donot pratice the old ways of haveing more than one wife and trying not to hit the kids and people that seam to come out of nowhere on the narrow side streets in the area we worked in..
and whole time there trying to ask you things about your place of birth and where your family is at in the states and the couple of old people that seam to come out of nowhere and try to walk right in front of the jeep and look at you like you are going to stop right..
then keep walking right up to the point where you go whizzing by and missing them by mere inch or two and they stand there cussing at you ..
raiseing there fist at you ..
they let me drive more in the latter part of my tour there and work the radio and get more involved with the police part after being there a while

the women on the radio net would laugh with my deep texas accent when i would try to tell in herbew where we where at on the partol and they would come back in perfect english and tell me it ok we know where your at when you come the air that night ..they would tell me to call them later in the night to help keep them awake sometimes dureing a long shift ..
most of the women i met there it was funny when i was on partol looking like a regular idf mp they would not say anything intill i would say something and that when question would start..

[hank2222]

one of the guys saw my dog tags and ask me what did lds stand for and i had it written on my vest and my blood typle as well for wear under my shirt
that what started the whole thing about being lds that night when we where on partol
the guys that i worked with knew every short cut though out the city at times when there was call comeing out ...

[georganne rayna]

speaking as a medium - you certainly won't be forgetting your routes but just remember if you've come from outside the country to israel be carefull with familiar faces they are not what they seem. (not your inner circle)

[Franklin.]

My grandma moved to Japan, and she said the driving is brutal. She said they hardly look out for pedestrians, and the pedestrians do not have the right of way.

[David of Galilee]

Driving in Israel has to be compared to other countries, or regions in countries, with a similar density of automobiles per kilometer. Compared to my first driving experiences here, back in the mid-1970s, I'd say that there are a huge number of improvements.

Almost all the main intercity roads are divided highways, with concrete barriers preventing head-on collision. Slowly the railroad/road intersections are being seperated by elevating the roadways over the tracks, or putting the rail line under the road bed. There are more lights at Arab villiage entrances along the highways in the Galilee, so no more games-of-chance entering flowing traffic.

The roads infrastructure is vastly improved over, say, 20 years ago. Kvish Shesh, the Trans-Israel toll road, has been open in large part for some years now.

And there are petrol stations everywhere now, each with a restaurant. No excuse not to stop if you're tired, and grab a cafe hafouk, or an espresso kaful.

We have actually had a reduction of serious accidents when adjusted for numbers of drivers on the road. Room for lots more improvement, but a good start.

I might add that we have an excellent rail system, which most tourists never learn about. It is being expanded (now slowly because of budget priorities), but construction of the new Jerusalem-Tel Aviv fast line is well underway, and will open in the next year or so I believe. Plans are solid for a new line into the Galilee, Akko to Karmiel to Qiryat Shmone, and a passenger line to Eilat.

Many in Be'er Sheva alread find it possible to work in Tel Aviv and commute by train.

Not to mention that Jerusalem is all torn up as they build the new light-rail system.

All this takes cars off the road--which Israel's very high rail useage shows.

Although more than a million new car-crazy immigrants puts a lot back on the road, too.

[haamimhagolan]

Originally Posted by David of Galilee

Driving in Israel has to be compared to other countries, or regions in countries, with a similar density of automobiles per kilometer.

There's probably a lot of truth in this. I didn't find driving in Haifa or the Galilee to be any big problem - but then again, I minimized my time on roads near Tel Aviv or Jerusalem (why drive when you can take the bus?).

I will relate one story that I heard from a co-worker, however, regarding another country with famously bad drivers: Italy. One of our senior staff members happened to be in Italy as part of a sales push, and was being chauffered by our local Italian site representative - who was also an ex-USAF fighter pilot. At the time, our traveling staff member was in a conference call - which is how all of us learned about this story. Out of nowhere, everyone on the teleconference heard a series of explatives. It turned out that the car being driven by our ex-USAF fighter pilot had been rear ended - by an Italian police car. The Italian officer got out, and proceeded to tell our Italian site rep that he was a "stupid American" who drove too slow.

I'd submit that on the whole, Israeli drivers are no worse than a lot of drivers in Europe, or any large American city that I've been too.

[rafi]

Originally Posted by David of Galilee

Driving in Israel has to be compared to other countries, or regions in countries, with a similar density of automobiles per kilometer. Compared to my first driving experiences here, back in the mid-1970s, I'd say that there are a huge number of improvements.

Almost all the main intercity roads are divided highways, with concrete barriers preventing head-on collision. Slowly the railroad/road intersections are being seperated by elevating the roadways over the tracks, or putting the rail line under the road bed. There are more lights at Arab villiage entrances along the highways in the Galilee, so no more games-of-chance entering flowing traffic.

The roads infrastructure is vastly improved over, say, 20 years ago. Kvish Shesh, the Trans-Israel toll road, has been open in large part for some years now.

And there are petrol stations everywhere now, each with a restaurant. No excuse not to stop if you're tired, and grab a cafe hafouk, or an espresso kaful.

We have actually had a reduction of serious accidents when adjusted for numbers of drivers on the road. Room for lots more improvement, but a good start.

I might add that we have an excellent rail system, which most tourists never learn about. It is being expanded (now slowly because of budget priorities), but construction of the new Jerusalem-Tel Aviv fast line is well underway, and will open in the next year or so I believe. Plans are solid for a new line into the Galilee, Akko to Karmiel to Qiryat Shmone, and a passenger line to Eilat.

Many in Be'er Sheva alread find it possible to work in Tel Aviv and commute by train.

Not to mention that Jerusalem is all torn up as they build the new light-rail system.

All this takes cars off the road--which Israel's very high rail useage shows.

Although more than a million new car-crazy immigrants puts a lot back on the road, too.

How long have you been working for Ministry of Tourism?

I am intrigued by the idea that an Israeli would commute 65 miles (Beer Sheva to Tel Aviv) to work. This is so foreign to the culture, I had not heard of this before.

[grgnkat]

If you want to go from point A to point B fast, just jump into an Israeli Taxi cab and hold on tight.

[rafi]

Israel Winning the War for Traffic Safety

Cheshvan 24, 5770, 11 November 09 01:06
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

(Israelnationalnews.com) Israel’s Traffic Safety Council, is urging new legislation that would require new drivers to be escorted by an experienced motorist for three months as part of an intensified battle in the war against death on the highways.

Israel’s fatality rate has dropped 20 percent this year compared with 2008, but the country still is among those with the highest number of pedestrian accidents and highest number of young people wounded on the roads. More Israelis have died in traffic accidents than in wars since the re-establishment of the State.

Yonat Martin Rosen, deputy director of the Traffic Safety Council, told Arutz Sheva it wants to change the current law that prohibits new drivers from driving alone for three months and instead require them to drive with an experienced driver before taking the wheel alone.

The Council also wants stiffer fines for drivers who are caught under the influence of alcohol as well as a stricter definition of the term.
Rosen is asking for more government funds for investment in technological innovations that, among other aids, warn drivers when they are not keeping enough distance from other vehicles. “These devices are not mandatory today but I think they will be in the future, just as air bags are now compulsory,” Rosen added.

Other recommendations of the Council include adding hours to driving courses and helping future motorists know how to handle problematic traffic situations.

Ziva Patri, director of the Council, added, “We aim to bring the number of traffic deaths to zero. We plant to teach everyone to say ‘no’ to a friend who drives while being tired or is under the influence of alcohol. Most traffic accidents are caused by human error that cost peoples’ lives.”

[David of Galilee]

Originally Posted by rafi

How long have you been working for Ministry of Tourism?

I am intrigued by the idea that an Israeli would commute 65 miles (Beer Sheva to Tel Aviv) to work. This is so foreign to the culture, I had not heard of this before.

If you can get to the train station in Be'er Sheva easily, and from the T"A station to your work easily, then it is not a bad commute. Buses and sherut taxis are one of the great hidden secrets of Israel. Tourists almost never figure out our public transport--good in a way because everything is crowded enough without adding several tens of thousands of tourists. The train did start calling the Stops in English a few years ago--sometimes. Between big towns Israel trains only stop for a moment, so you do have to be ready by the doors, especially if you car is filled with a platoon of sleeping soldiers taking their laundry home in giant duffle bags. Tourists never understand that you can step over sleeping soldiers--just not on them. And please not on the sighting optics of his rifle.

It is a new era, and lots of people commute now. We tend to own our homes, and it is very hard to uproot family and sell a house. Commuting is less of a pain in the end.

I spent years going from Karmiel to my job at Haifa University and back by Arab sherut taxi and and Egged autobus. Almost 2 hours each way. Then I spent years working in Tzfat for the Ministry of Health, but that was only an hour each way. I never got so much reading done in my life, and I miss it.

When I lived at Kibbutz Revivim in the mid-1970s, when heading north, we knew that we were getting near Be'er Sheva when we saw the unusually fat donkeys sunning themselves at the side of the road with their feet in the air. Shwarma was so cheap back then!

[rafi]

I commuted from TIberias to Haifa when I was in University there, and people thought I was insane.

Prior to that I worked in Yerucham, and transportation in the Negev was, well, primitive at best.

I was always amazed that no one stole my weapon when I slept on the bus. But it was a nice surprise when a child would bring me a cold Tempo
"from emma for Dod HaChayal".

Ah nostalgia.

[panzermk2]

I am from Chicago. I have ripped the side view mirrors of my car against the same mirrors on Chicago taxi cabs. When i am out of town and I have people in the car with me they FREAK out white knuckle the whole time.

In Israel I fit in perfect no problems.