A short survival guide for Kuwait roads

Hello all! During the past few years I have been observing what is going on on Kuwait roads, and I am pleased to share my findings which may increase your odds of making it to your destination in one piece.

Curiously enough, it appears there is a high correlation between the type of car being driven and the type of risk you can be exposed to. This makes it a bit easier to anticipate what is likely to happen if you are in vicinity of one of these stuntmen (and women!)

1. Crown Victorias and derivatives



For some reason this one seems to be the weapon of choice for large percentage of assaults you can expect on the road. Don't know the reason, but I suspect it may be the rear wheel drive which attracts the nutcases. These come with the complete set of options by default: concept of turn signals is completely foreign to them, suspension is non existing and they are completely oblivious to the other participants in the traffic. At the rate they are crashing I suspect the country will run out of them, but it appears that the supply is plentiful When you see one of these, keep an eye on them and stay away.

2. Ford Mustang (all flavors)



I wish they used the turn signals more as the rear ones have a cool running light effect. Maybe the owners don't know it. The car is kind of cool but unfortunately they are notorious for being driven by someone who is wanted by the police. They will try to do anything to avoid the police checkpoint, speeding, running the red light, zig-zagging through heavy traffic and my favorite: driving in the opposite direction. I personally had a pleasure of avoiding a head on collision three times already. Same advice applies to stay away from them, but unfortunately they usually come after you.

3. Toyota (and similar) trucks from 80ties.



These are more of an annoyance than a real life threat as they don't (or can't) do high speed attacks, but they are infamous for wide assortment of stunts on the intersections and waking you in the middle of the night while flooring the throttle without having an exhaust. Easy to avoid but a nuisance if you are living in close proximity to their routes.

4. Black Escalade



This one is an Alpha of the road pack. These believe they own the road, and unfortunately they drive like they do. They are always "late" and will tailgate you and lay on the horn until you move or crash, whichever comes first. The windows will be 100% tinted, so it may be a 12 year old behind the wheel, and you cannot reason with 12 year olds. Just move aside and keep your eyes on the rear view mirror so you can spot the next one coming on time.

5. Misc

The above cover about 80% of potential risk factors. Worth mentioning are Nissans and Lexuses which are generally driven by ladies who never check if it is safe before merging (truth to be told, may of them are unable to). Interestingly enough, I observed that women are mostly the ones who like to run a red light, usually at full speed - beware!
Stay away from the commercial trucks, they don't change their tires until they explode (this is true for all vehicles though, but exploding truck tire is more of a concern that a passenger car one).
Older Lancers and Sunnys are very unpredictable but due to their lack of power and size not as dangerous.

There, hope it helps. Stay safe!