That is exactly right. It seems like the authorities are finally starting to enforce the traffic laws in this country. But it seems like the public transportation workers do not like the idea of being law-abiding in order for things to be more orderly.
The police have been issuing more tickets these past few weeks for traffic violations and honking the horn when it is not necessary (like when you want the vehicle in front of you to get out of your way, for example, or even worse, when traffic is backed up and people are in a hurry or frustrated and they decide to honk incessantly). It's a good thing that the police are trying to get drivers to follow the rules when being behind the wheel. Driving in Peru is not civilized at all and it's more like being in a video game. Take a look here. It takes special skills to drive here. Things like making a left turn from the farthest lane to the right and swtiching lanes without using the blinkers are common practice. I was glad to see that something was being done to teach people that they need to obey the rules.
Well, the bus companies decided to go on a strike today because the police are issuing expensive tickets left and right. There were very few buses on the road today the only word that comes to my mind to describe what it was like is chaos. A lot of people use the public buses here and the fact that there were very few running was simply horrible. I didn't realize there was a strike until I stood on my usual corner to take the bus and not a single one would come around. Only then did I remember. I had to take a small bus (combi) to go to one of the main avenues in my part of town and from there get on a different bus to go to work. I had to pay twice as much as I would usually pay. Fine. I have to get to work. When I got off that bus I spotted one that would get me pretty close to work. The money collector lady said the bus was only going up the road till it got to one of the major avenues in town. Fine. Close enough for me to just walk to work. I was overcharged again as was everyone else. At one point the money lady told a bunch of people to shut their mouths when they started to complain. Excellent customer service.
Tons of people were standing on the streets hoping to get on a bus or taxi. And when one came around, they would all run to it and shove people left and right trying to get on the bus. Cabs here do not have meters, so they were also overcharging people. Some people got creative and decided to drive their own vehicles on the streets and make some money. When I was finished at work, I didn't think I'd be able to take a bus home and I was right. So I decided to walk home and boy, it was a long, and I mean LONG walk. It took around 1 hour and 40 minutes. A lot of people also decided they would walk. I had never seen so many people walk on the streets here. I decided to stop by the supermarket to get a drink and there were lots of people in line to check their stuff out. There's a speciall line for older people and women that are pregnant, and this lady (she looked old but certainly not old enough to be in that line) cut in the very front of the line, which made everyone around upset. She became rude and so did the people behind her. It made my day :)
Hopefully things will go back to normal tomorrow. Not only do these reckless bus drivers jeopardize their passenger's lives and be rude to them but now they're striking because they don't want to pay a fine when they break the rules? So if I don't want to go to work because I have a lot of stuff to do then I just don't show up? If I steal or kill someone, should I then not be punished because I had a "reason" to do so? I think not. And mind you, it isn't just the bus drivers that drive like crazy but everyone in general!!!!! If these people drove the way they did in the States, they'd all go to jail. So much for passing a driving test and a psychological test. This, my dear friend, is the kind of country I live in. A country were people go on strike because they don't want to be punished when they commit a violation.
