Car observations in Armenia / Georgia

[WCZ]

Just on my third week travelling around here and have noticed a few things:

Seatbelts:
No one wears seat belts at all, this is the first place I’ve ever been to where some taxis I’ve been in have actually removed the seat belts from the car or if they haven’t then they’ll have rear seat covers that actually make it impossible to buckle up your belt in the rear anyway!

Driving styles:
It’s basically a free for all, people make 3 lanes out of 2, overtake at the most dangerous of times, I’ve seen people overtake the police like a nutter whilst on their phone and cutting through a red light but they didn’t react! All whilst not wearing a seatbelt of course !

G63’s:
They are simply everywhere here, even in extremely poor areas! (With Armenian plates too) just looks so out of place at times. Other cars which are popular here are the top petrol models of older Mercedes cars (always in black) s500’s etc. weirdly there are quite a few American muscle cars here but zero Porsches etc


Bumpers:
This was more in Georgia than Armenia but around 20% of cars don’t have a front or rear bumper (but still have number plates) I couldn’t figure out what the exact reason for this is though !

Honking:
People honk there horn for everything here including at times to say thank you!

[WCZ]

Oh and a taxi driver laughed at me trying to clip my belt in tonight !

[Lil_Red_GTV]

I always find it fascinating that many other parts of the world have such relaxed attitudes to road safety, as indeed did we in the UK a generation or so ago. Now some people agonise over whether a forward facing car seat is safe enough for their kid and won't buy a car with less than 5 NCAP stars because it's a "death trap".

[Grumps.]

Lil_Red_GTV said:

I always find it fascinating that many other parts of the world have such relaxed attitudes to road safety, as indeed did we in the UK a generation or so ago. Now some people agonise over whether a forward facing car seat is safe enough for their kid and won't buy a car with less than 5 NCAP stars because it's a "death trap".

And that’s bad because?

[Lil_Red_GTV]

Just an observation.

[768]

I hitch hiked out of a desert in the middle east within the last couple of years. I'd been awake pretty much solidly while walking for a few days, run out of water but made it to the road, a bit delirious at times by that stage. Suddenly moving at 100mph with strangers while the driver made Snapchat videos with no sign of a seat belt did a good job of keeping me awake. Different cultures.

[hidetheelephants]

Inshallah.

[WCZ]

768 said:

I hitch hiked out of a desert in the middle east within the last couple of years. I'd been awake pretty much solidly while walking for a few days, run out of water but made it to the road, a bit delirious at times by that stage. Suddenly moving at 100mph with strangers while the driver made Snapchat videos with no sign of a seat belt did a good job of keeping me awake. Different cultures.

Ah so they don’t put a belt on to keep them more alert ?

[Snow and Rocks]

Lil_Red_GTV said:

I always find it fascinating that many other parts of the world have such relaxed attitudes to road safety, as indeed did we in the UK a generation or so ago. Now some people agonise over whether a forward facing car seat is safe enough for their kid and won't buy a car with less than 5 NCAP stars because it's a "death trap".

Is this really a common mindset?

I quite often discuss car choices with friends, family, colleagues etc and I can't remember anyone even mentioning safety as a reason for choosing a particular car.

Maybe my Aberdeenshire location changes things I guess.

[Chubbyross]

I remember having a conversation with a chap from a different culture than my own about seat belts. He told me it was seen as incredibly insulting to the driver to wear one. The driver wouldn’t wear one due to the fear of being seen as weak by others.