Driving in Papua New Guinea

Member since 20 June 2013

MaximilienViP31 July 2015 07:30:58

12633

Hi,

What do you think of the way people drive in Papua New Guinea? How different is it from your home country?

Respecting the road safety rules, driving etiquette such as general courtesy, speed excess what are the characteristics of the driving style in Papua New Guinea?

Share with us the difficulties one may face when driving in Papua New Guinea: peak hours, road conditions, accident, etc. and your advice to drive safely in the country.

Thank you in advance for participating,

Maximilien

Stevehigh Active member

Member since 10 August 2014

StevehighActive member31 July 2015 09:35:43

Driving in Port Moresby is not too bad compared to some large cities in the USA. In town the roads are pretty good, however there is a tendency to allow gutter grates to be missing in which case you can drop a wheel into a deep gutter if you are not careful.

You learn to be a bit aggressive as a necessity to keep traffic flowing smoothly. However because there are some traffic backups at times most drivers are pretty courteous about letting people into the line. A lot of bus drivers are very pushy and aggressive and you have to watch out for them to pull in front of you are try to force their way into traffic.

Traffic is heaviest between 7:30 and 8 am and again in late afternoon as people are going and coming to work and school. During school breaks traffic traffic reduces considerably.

I generally get annoyed at people driving too slowly rather than too fast. A lot of new drivers aren't too sure of themselves.

Overall driving in Moresby isn't too bad and they are doing a lot to improve roads down the main Hubert Murray Highway. Other then occasionally heavy traffic and slowdowns at road construction sites it isn't too bad...in my opinion.