Moped driving for the uninitiated
We all know what I think about people driving mopeds on the island without a license, insurance and helmet – and if you don’t you can read about it here…
But that’s not what this post is about.
Because most likely you will hire a moped and drive it – no licence, helmet or insurance anyway…So here’s a few tips about driving here which may help your skin survive unscathed and your brains, what there are of them, remain in your head.
If you are behind it is YOUR responsibility to avoid the people in front of you, keep your distance, people can and will stop with no warning whatsoever – especially tourists
Locals can and will come out of junctions without looking, you are technically behind them and so again, it is YOUR responsibility to avoid them – go slow coming up to junctions and as an added warning, honk your horn – you will hear lots of locals doing this
Honking here is not aggressive – it is used to say ‘hey, I am here’ or ‘hey, I’m over taking you’ so don’t get your panties in a bunch if someone honks at you, all they are doing is saying ‘hey, I’m here, yo!’
There are lots of blind corners – take them slowly, the taxi trucks often take a wide turn and may be on your side
The roads in certain areas are very poor and potholey – GO SLOWLY – the islands roads are not racetracks – real people live here, also you’re on vacation, take your time
There are plenty of areas of gravel – if you cannot avoid them, drive SLOWLY over them, this is where most novice drivers can fail and fall
And if all that fails and you still have an accident, which let’s face it, is pretty likely – there are several excellent medical centres on the island, including East Medical round the corner from MYE Bakery and Café on the way to Mushroom Bay and Nusa Medika at the far end of Jungut Batu on the way to Mahagiri. Don’t delay going to one, once you’ve heard the screams of a girl going to the clinic to get her wounds cleaned and discovering they have to debride them, two days after she came off her moped and was scraped from ankle to hip, you’ll never forget it.
Stay safe, have awesome vacations!
