Traffic Anomalies

[argcalif2010]

I don't understand the logic with emergency vehicles with emergency lights on constantly. Police and Ambulances have the lights in position and when there is an emergency the traffic pulls aside only because of the sound of the sirens, ridiculous

Double parking in almost all streets is such a pain in the ass that in Capital it is almost imposible to conduct your car in one lane for more than a few blocks.

Cars that use emergency flashers while moving is also something that I can't cope with. The use of these lights when cars are trying to find a parking space is also ridiculous.

These are the everyday problems with the crazy and anarchic traffic in Buenos Aires. Never thought that I would miss traffic laws, as in the USA, but now I have learned they are essential.

 

[khairyexpat]

Never thought that I would miss traffic laws, as in the USA, but now I have learned they are essential.

NEVER EVER would I miss USA/Canada traffic laws !
I`d rather put up with the lunacy here.

Previous thread : http://baexpats.org/...ubject +traffic

 

[UK Man]

Easier to list the positives....there are none. :lol:

 

[ElQueso]

I've never actually seen more than one or two cars pull over when the sirens start, myself - and I'm one of them. I was driving out near Abasto a couple of days ago in rush hour and an ambulance was trying to get through. It had turned the corner and was about three cars behind me. I pulled over into a space in front of a drive - and every damned car that was behind me, in front of the ambulance, pulled right around me and kept going, passing other, similar spaces to pull over into. Heh. The ambulance driver looked over at me and waved as he passed.

The damned police car lights are what get me. Those are some damned strong strobes and actually interfere with my vision. Get one in front and I can't see half a damned thing.

But I'm not sure what you have against people using flashers to indicate they are trying to park - I do the same thing. Parallel parking requires that you stop alongside other cars, usually in traffic, and it seems like a pretty good idea for me to put on my flashers when doing so, even though I don't have a whole lot of hope that anyone will actually notice...

As far as the traffic laws go, though - there are plenty of traffic laws, they just get ignored, like many things in Argentina. One reason the traffic side of things get ignored, as I understand it, is because after the military dictatorship and the Disappeared, cops aren't allowed to stop vehicles unless they are in a checkpoint with a certain number of cops available to be "chaperones". So you can have a guy that blows by a cop car like he's standing still (which I've seen on the highways many times) without fear of being pulled over and ticketed (although he may get caught by a camera, but no one pays their fines anyway). Of course, the cops would have to care about actually stopping the guy anyway, were they allowed. (I have a couple of contacts among cops and they are not the most trustworthy bunch, as a whole; worrying about fighting crime and punishing bad drivers is pretty far down their list, usually).

 

[John Doe]

The first time that I saw police cars with flashing lights on constantly was in Mexico City. It seemed like a good idea. If someone was looking for the police, they'd be easy to spot.
In the San Francisco Bay Area and probably many other areas of the World, there are cameras watching drivers. I know several people who got tickets for not coming to a complete stop or yielding properly. The fines are only a mere US$400.00. In addition a choice is given - spend a day in traffic school or if one doesn't go to traffic school,they get points added to their record,resulting in a huge increase in auto insurance.
I'm surprised that drivers in BA making left turns from the right lane and right turns from the left lane wasn't mentioned.

.

 

[UK Man]

As far as the traffic laws go, though - there are plenty of traffic laws, they just get ignored, like many things in Argentina. One reason the traffic side of things get ignored, as I understand it, is because after the military dictatorship and the Disappeared, cops aren't allowed to stop vehicles unless they are in a checkpoint with a certain number of cops available to be "chaperones". So you can have a guy that blows by a cop car like he's standing still (which I've seen on the highways many times) without fear of being pulled over and ticketed (although he may get caught by a camera, but no one pays their fines anyway). Of course, the cops would have to care about actually stopping the guy anyway, were they allowed. (I have a couple of contacts among cops and they are not the most trustworthy bunch, as a whole; worrying about fighting crime and punishing bad drivers is pretty far down their list, usually).

This is the root of the problem there is very little deterant to obey the rules of the road and the police probably don't know what they are anyway. When I asked my wife how she got her driving license she admitted it was gained more on who she knew more than what she knew. Despite driving for over 30 years here she failed her UK test three times. She complained the examiners were 'too fussy'.

 

[dennisr]

Driverless vehicles in Buenos Aires: cannot build a computer big enough to process all the variables for driving in Buenos Aires.

 

[EJLarson]

I asked a cop, why the lights? He said, "so people can see us in case they need us." I asked, what about the chorros who stop robbing when they see you coming two blocks away, then go back to it when you've passed?

He shrugged.

 

[Crema Americana]

The flashing hazard lights while trying to park or in rain doesn't bother me. At least that's trying to show some warning and courtesy, which is more than you usually get.

I do agree those ultra-bright flashing lights on emergency vehicles being a nuisance and dangerous. Those new LED lights or whatever they are, are too bright. The good thing is that you can pass a cop without getting a "are you trying to show-me-up?" ticket. As for ambulances, my observation has been if lights and sirens are on (and they're honking), move over. If it's just the lights, they're just another car.

My biggest complaint now with traffic in provincia is that they put all these new speed trap cameras up... it doesn't actually make the roads any safer, just a way to make money. My extended family was averaging a ticket a week.

 

[mc kenna]

I asked a cop, why the lights? He said, "so people can see us in case they need us." I asked, what about the chorros who stop robbing when they see you coming two blocks away, then go back to it when you've passed?

He shrugged.

At one point there was a meeting about rural safety, and the question came up........ all we got was, ''they are police procedures which we don't discuss with the public'', so on the last break in at my neighbor's i made a point to remind them of this, i said to them, make sure if you approach my front gate, you have all your lights on, as unwanted vehicles at the gate at night , get shot to shit, these are homestead procedures i don't discuss with the police......