Driving Dangers

I've already explained that driving is dangerous here - especially during the rainy season! Not only are there potholes of absurd proportions, there are also many things to dodge: fallen branches, livestock, pedestrians, wooden carts, matatus (Kenyan public transportation), tuk tuks (imagine a taxi on three wheels powered by a lawnmower engine, and you've got a tuk tuk), speed bumps, lawless intersections, and a host of student drivers from Mombasa's many driving schools. Schools with names like Unik, Rocky, and AA Driving School. Incidentally, the only school that doesn't promise a guaranteed "pass" (for that, read "we don't care if you can drive, just cough up the cash") is AA.

The other day I was on the road with two friends. We were returning home after getting a bite to eat, and we rounded a bend to see a matatu just ahead of us, picking up a passenger on the side of the road.

Matatus are decrepit, boxy vans that seat 15 people and drive in circuits picking up passengers. For 20 shillings you can get through town in a matatu. It's not just a bus - it's a cultural experience! The most popular ones are painted black or orange, decked out in black-lights and neon, with booming music so loud you hear them before you see them. Part roller coaster, part disco, part extreme sport; once you've ridden a matatu, you'll never forget it.

There are more matatus than monkeys in Mombasa, so I'm used to dodging them as I drive. However, on this day, as this particular matatu pulled back out into the road, we noticed the conductor struggling to shut the big sliding door on the side. Before we knew what was happening the door fell off it's top hinge and the van began dragging the door along the road beside it! Sparks were flying, the matatu was swerving, and I ducked down a side-street just in time to see the door completely detach itself from the van, do a flip, and skid to a halt in the middle of the road. We were almost flattened by a runaway car door! And the strangest thing about it was: no one was even phased. Just another day here in Mombasa...

A typical matatu waiting for passengers

When in motion, matatus look like this!