Gringo’s Travels
Puerto Rico viewed from a gringo’s perspective
No Road Rage in PR
Author: The Gringo28 Mar
The one good thing about driving in Puerto Rico is there is no road rage. You can literally drive like a maniac and not have to worry about people driving more recklessly to try to prove a point. You of course will get horns honking at you, but the horn is expected (I have never heard their Puerto Rico national anthem, but the main instrument has to be the car horn). Puerto Ricans do get irritated with certain things. The irritation usually starts when someone is kind enough to let you in and then a long line of cars follows. Now the car that was kind is stuck. They still won’t have road rage though. They just grin and bare it, realizing that they shouldn’t have let you go.
- Tags: long line of cars, maniac, puerto ricans, Puerto Rico, road rage
2 Responses for "No Road Rage in PR"
First I have to say that there is something to be noted about driving behavioral patterns in PR. Most people’s mental priority is NOT focused on “driving” while operating a motor vehicle. So what I’m saying is this. DRIVING is something people do WHILE they talk on the phone, listen to music, socialize, apply makeup or even watch TV. Notice the priority is “talking on the phone, etc”, NOT DRIVING! The cell phone conversation is consuming most of the driver’s attention so driving decisions are not going to be a priority. The use of turn signals, decisions for lane selections, or starting to move forward when the stop light turns green are all examples of the ADD driving culture. Once you understand this, you will better accept the cultural attitude governing driving habits in PR. This also applies to the US too but not as prevalent.
I found that a large amount of people disregard traffic rules too. This is especially true for the police. Example - If you want to go to the front of the line at the traffic light then drive up the side and pull in front of the first car. Everyone will get what they want if they only “take it”. Since the police are driving around with their lights always flashing, you can behave until the lights are gone. Then you can basically do what ever you like.
One night as I was driving home in the dark, I saw car driving in the right lane next to me. The back door was open as the car drove along at 20 to 30 miles per hour. I looked over and saw a boy (age 8 – 10) sitting in on the floor in the back of a car. He was shooting rubber bands out the door at passing cars as the car drove along. I didn’t quite understand the reason the driver would allow this behavior.
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