Click, clack, front and back

Peace Avenue, Ulaanbaatar

Yesterday was ‘Car Ban Day’ in Ulaanbaatar. No cars, buses or motorbikes were allowed in the CBD all day in an effort to reduce air pollution and promote increased transportation by foot. Well that was my conclusion anyway. To be honest, I’m not really sure what it was all about, I just found out about it when I walked outside! Though it did coincide with the UB Marathon and a track was set up near my apartment where I saw kids competing in a cycling competition.

Car Ban Day in UB is awesome. The road was filled with people outside enjoying the sunshine with their families, riding bikes, skateboards, scooters and rollerblades. For some strange reason it is so liberating to walk down the middle of a normally busy main road and not have to fear getting into trouble for it. Or getting hit by a car. I guess sometimes it’s the little things in life..

From what I’ve learnt, traffic lights were only installed in UB less than a year ago, so motorists are still quite new to the idea. From my observations, I think we can conclude that they don’t like traffic lights.

Motorists will sit at red lights and hold their hand on their horn consistently, waving their arms at the car in front to go, even though we’ve all learnt that red means stop.

People here feel that the traffic lights are too slow, so at peak hour, a police officer will stand in the middle of a major intersection and direct the traffic, even though the lights are changing around him. With four lanes going each way, hundreds of cars whiz by him. It’s a pretty amazing sight, but sometimes doesn’t quite work out as pedestrians still choose to cross the road when the green man appears, even though the cars are moving.

During off peak times, it’s still not a good idea to follow the green man. Make sure you check both ways before you cross that road because a car or bus will come out of nowhere and drive straight over you. They’re not too worried about the lights!

There also doesn’t seem to be a lot of rules when it comes to safety in cars.

Seatbelts are mostly for presentation rather than practicality. If you are lucky enough to get a seatbelt, you often can’t find the plug.

In order to stop the beeping sound that new cars make when passengers are not wearing their seatbelts, people often plug the seatbelt in and then sit on it. Or have a special second plug made that is permanently inserted into the first so there is never any beeping.

Just because there are only five seats in a car, doesn’t mean you can’t squeeze six or seven people in..

Last week we stopped on a main road so that our driver could pick up a toy car that had been thrown out of the window of the car in front of us by a toddler. Kids are running around in cars like they’re at the playground!

I guess a few decades back in Australia it was the same. Road safety is drummed into our heads so much these days, I’ve grown up with it all of my life. My Mongolian friends think it’s pretty funny when I am shocked by the things I see here. I found this great ad on YouTube by the RTA from the 90’s, I might have to share it with them… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKgMvWgpN8U

Chinggis Khaan Square from the Terrace of Blue Sky Hotel.

Some other fun facts I’ve learnt about traffic in Mongolia.

There are no highways.

The maximum speed limit everywhere is 80km/h.

The letters on number plates indicate which day of the week that car is allowed to drive. Don’t make too many plans on your non-driving day!

Every car has a card in the front window with the driver’s phone number on it. You can park where ever you want. If someone needs to move their car and you are in the way, they will call you to move it. Or just wait for you to come back.

If you want to get somewhere, you can make your own roads and just drive wherever you want!

The Give Way sign does not exist here. If you want to turn, it’s first in best dressed. Don’t be worried when you look out your side window and see a car flying toward you. It will stop. Most of the time.

It’s not uncommon to see four cars all drive into the same spot and get stuck, then spend five minutes trying to get themselves untangled.

Everyone is a taxi driver in Mongolia. If you want to go somewhere, stand on the road and wave your arm and

someone will pick you up. Learning the Mongolian words for “left hand turn”, “right hand turn” and “straight” has gotten me many places. Your driver will either take this opportunity to practice English with you, or crank up the tunes and let you have a mini karaoke session in the back seat.

I’ve heard many people here say that they don’t like driving because they are not good at it. If they’ve managed to navigate their way around UB and live to tell the tale, I’d say quite the contrary!

#traffic #mongolia #ulaanbaatar #volunteer #travel #car