The Peykan.
After experiencing the traffic in Iran, and in Tehran especially, I asked people if they deliberately had very few traffic rules. But apparently they have a system of rules comparable to any other country, although no one seems so enforce them. Observing the streets the only rule (of thumb) I noticed was that people somehow kept to the right.
In Iran it’s all about the gas, the brake and the horn. And the bigger, louder and sneakier you are the quicker you’ll get from A to B – at least that seems to be the common belief. The horn is used all the time but most commonly, preemptively to make others aware of your presence. That is, if you’re about to take someone over or if you’re going around a corner with poor vision you sound your horn to let other drivers know that you’re coming so that they stay out of your way. Hence the louder your horn sounds the more space you will get on the road; this has made some people to exchange their original horn with a truck horn with much more power and sound. Rear-view mirrors and indicators are rarely used and a green light by the traffic lights is no insurance that you can cross the streets without being run over by speeding cars.
This makes walking in traffic noisy and dangerous, especially crossing the street is a quite exciting sport – with very high stakes. It demands focus and a few deep breaths before entering the street. When crossing you have to try to predict the speed and the direction the cars are going (there are no lanes in the road) while they are swooshing by you at an arms lengths.
It should also be mentioned that the most common car in Iran is still the Peykan. The Peykan is a relic from the 1960’s which still was in production up until three years ago. They are now one of the main factors to Iran’s huge problem with congestion and smog in big cities. Now a day the government subsidizes the termination of these old cars with $2000 if you buy a new car – i.e. the Saba. (It appears that the nice ruling regime have restricted access to wikipedia so you have to do the type in peykan and saba by your self.)
In the positive manner that is so very typical for me I take the traffic situation to be the exception that confirms the rule about the great Iranian hospitality.
