Being a Californian, I’m accustomed to an infestation of laws. So when I visited Indonesia it was shocking to witness the nearly complete lack of adherence to law in that country. Especially as they pertain to driving. The roads are a plethora of cars and scooters zipping along seemingly without regard to what’s around them, rules of the road, or the acknowledgement of speed limits. It was like the Mad Tea Party ride at Disneyland had merged with the twister scene from Wizard of Oz.
Not only were drivers reckless, but I couldn’t believe the creativity in utilizing the various vehicles. Who knew that a family of FIVE could fit on one scooter? Who knew that school children on a field trip could be stuffed into the back of a truck, with standing room only. Or that you CAN pass on either side of the vehicle in front of you on a two-lane road despite the size of your vehicle, the lack of space on the non-road side, or the fact that by doing so, you would force oncoming traffic to pull off the road. Crazy.
And yet, in my ten days touring the country I did not see one accident. Not even a fender-bender. The only police I saw were jogging in the road for a fundraiser.
I wondered how freeing it would be to not live life riddled with rules. If everyone just did as they pleased and took things in stride. The aesthetics probably wouldn’t be as nice, but perhaps we’ve lawed ourselves into a civilized prison where individuality and creativity have been somewhat stifled.
Not only were drivers reckless, but I couldn’t believe the creativity in utilizing the various vehicles. Who knew that a family of FIVE could fit on one scooter? Who knew that school children on a field trip could be stuffed into the back of a truck, with standing room only. Or that you CAN pass on either side of the vehicle in front of you on a two-lane road despite the size of your vehicle, the lack of space on the non-road side, or the fact that by doing so, you would force oncoming traffic to pull off the road. Crazy.
And yet, in my ten days touring the country I did not see one accident. Not even a fender-bender. The only police I saw were jogging in the road for a fundraiser.
I wondered how freeing it would be to not live life riddled with rules. If everyone just did as they pleased and took things in stride. The aesthetics probably wouldn’t be as nice, but perhaps we’ve lawed ourselves into a civilized prison where individuality and creativity have been somewhat stifled.
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