What Drivers and Riders Accept

I am writing this from my home in the Mountains of Pedralba, a village outside Valencia City, and it is a very cold day. That makes this activity just perfect.

We arrived here from my native Bermuda towards the end of 1999. We must surely be the only immigrants who did not come to Spain for the sun, sand, and the sea, but we will take the sangrias. Bermuda has all those things in good measure, but it is a very small island, only 35 kilometres long and 3 kilometres wide. Like most things precious it comes in a small package.

I decided to give myself a 60th birthday and take early retirement to go in search of adventure, challenge and change. For my family and myself this has been just the tonic.

On the way in from Valencia airport I concluded that what Spain really needed, right there and then were safer roads, and that if I ever got the opportunity to make a small contribution I would not hesitate. In my own way I have been doing my bit, including the writing of a regular column on Spanish Motoring that has been published by the largest publisher of English language newspapers, The Costa Blanca News Group.

So, here we are, seven plus years later. My wife, Lorna, who is from Cornwall, South West England is a fluent speaker of both Castillian and Valenciano Spanish. So much so that many consider her to be native born. Our son, Nathaniel, who was nine when we arrived was holding his own in the language department after six months. I am the problem, but even I am able to travel anywhere in the country and do business without too many costly mistakes.

I have to give praise to our friends, Pepe and Amparo and thier son, Juan, and daughter, Carolina, for without them we would have had to invent someone like them to help us get settled. We chose an area where Spanish only was spoken because we came to Spain.

Spanish roads were really bad when we arrived. The types of behaviour seen on the roads were more suitable for the bullring, but to be honest, things have improved. They could hardly have gotten any worse. We had people darting each and everywhere without total disreagrd for lane discipline. Traffic signs were mere suggestions, especially "Stop" signs. To put it mildly, I was simply horrified. Now I often help newcomers to adjust to the so-called system here, which is still a lot of organised chaos.

So, driving in Spain carries some risks that are somewhat unique because many of your fellow drivers are actually frustrated bull fighters. These young men think nothing of standing still while a mad bull charges at full speed with one thing on its mind. "I'm going to stick it to that little fella!" Having said that, modern driving has many shared risks, and we who take to the road tacitly or openly accept those risks. Here are some of them:

- We know that our road systems are overcrowded and getting worse every day;
- Many of us are incompetent, confused, purchased our license, we are careless and distracted, drunk, on drugs, stupid, or all of the above;
- Sooner or later someone will bump into us, and when they do we can only hope that it will be gently;
- That sooner or later we ourselves will likely bump into someone else. This is not mandatory, however, so be careful out there. A collision is not the same thing as an accident.

For those of you who have to switch from the left side of the road to the right when visiting Europe or North America, there is an easy to remember failproof mantra. "The right side is the right side." Also, if your left elbow, that's the one with the watch normally, is pointing at the center of the road, you're probably doing it correctly. If, however, it is pointing at a hedge alongside, you have to make a correction and you have to be very quick about it.

"Death on the Roads! It doesn't have to end that Way."