Editorials

Thursday, 02 June 2011 12:19

The Saudis have it right. Women should not be allowed to drive. Don't get me wrong...I am all for womens' right and equality and blah, blah, blah. My concern is that most women I know are crap drivers! I don't know if it's because they are easily distracted, allow their emotions to influence their activities or just lack the ability to judge spatial relationships as quickly and accurately as men but in my estimation roughly 75% of all motor vehicle accidents could be avoided by banning women from our roads.

Now of course if you ask a female motorist how good their driving is and they are likely to tell you that they are either good or VERY good drivers. Then ask them about the driving ability of every other driver on the road and their answers will be vastly different, especially when it concerns male drivers.

According to one British survey conducted last year, a vast majority of men now believe that women and men are equal in driving ability. Women on the other hand still believe that they make better drivers and express much less confidence in the driving ability of men. In fact, only 9% of women drivers feel that men are the better drivers, while 45% of the ladies opine that women make better drivers than men.
Roughly 20-25% of all Jordanian drivers have been involved in a motor-vehicle accident in the past year, while roughly 20-25% of all Jordanian WOMEN drivers have been involved in a motor vehicle accident in the past 2 hours. I say that with tongue firmly planted in cheek, but you get my point.

I am always apprehensive about climbing into the passenger seat when my wife is driving, but I do it because I like adventure. From the moment we back out of the driveway at a snail's pace to the minute she BARELY avoids hitting the stone wall as she takes an absurd angle back into the driveway after our trip, it's one white-knuckle incident after another. It's not hyperbole to say that watching her drive is like watching a really old person eat peas with a fork.

Let me paint this mental picture for you. We climb into the car and as soon as she starts it up, my ears begin bleeding because the radio is on level 10 and the music comes blaring out of nowhere. Really, who listens to music that loud? I maintain she suffers from hearing loss but that's a story for another time. Ok, adjust the seat and mirrors, release the parking brake and....here we go...slowly backing out of the parking spot. Her head is on a swivel, turning this way and that, checking each mirror, hitting the brakes, correcting the steering wheel...backing up a bit more...more head swiveling and mirror checking and brake tapping and steering corrections. It takes fully 2 minutes to get out of the driveway and not without several narrow misses. And heaven forbid there is a car on the street opposite our driveway because then we could make a day of getting out of the driveway.

Ok, now we're free and on the road. Of course the air-conditioning or heater is on FULL BLAST because she has not learned to nuance the controls for more or less air or moderate temperatures. I typically just leave the window open. In the winter it provides a cool respite from the hot air blasting from the vents and in the summer it gives me a nice gust of moderate air to counter the arctic freeze emanating from the AC.

We're driving along and within the first minute she receives a text message or a phone call. This text or phone call is not arbitrary...I mean it's as if it's obligatory. Does she call her friends before we leave to say "Give me five minutes to get out of the parking spot and then call me!"?

Now that she is actively engaged in texting for chatting away on the phone with her friends, I feel sorry for everyone else on the road. Pedestrians and motorists alike are not safe. I'm half convinced that we need a wailing siren on our car that sounds and advance warning that we are on the way. It wouldn't even have to be a siren...it could just be a loudspeaker that repeats "MAKE WAY. I DO NOT YIELD. I DO NOT SIGNAL. I DO NOT APPLY MY BRAKES, BUT I WILL BLARE MY HORN IF YOU DO ANYTHING SLIGHTLY OUT OF THE ORDINARY".

After 3 or 4 near misses with other cars, pedestrians and curbs we arrive at our destination. I hope against hope that there is a normal parking spot available. If it is necessary to parallel park or reverse into a parking spot, I just prepare myself for the inevitable argument.

I cannot understand that after 20 years of driving she never learned to parallel park or reverse properly. It's mind boggling. Every attempt evolves like this: For parallel parking she pulls up too far or not far enough and then cuts the wheel at a ridiculous angle. If we are lucky enough to avoid hitting parked cars, we invariable drive up on the curb, resulting in her getting angry and blaming me, at which point she grabs her purse and opens the door and tells me to park it.

Of course reversing into a spot is no easier, but has more yelling and arguing before I am asked to take over. And don't even THINK about offering advice as she is trying to back into a spot while turning the steering wheel the wrong direction.

Earlier I mentioned the loudspeaker that announcers our arrival and refusal to brake for other drivers and pedestrians. Please don’t confuse that refusal to brake for other drivers as a refusal to brake at all. My wife LOVES to hit the brakes for no reason. If we are traveling an empty road and there is no one for miles, out of nowhere she will see something in her peripheral vision that will cause here to suddenly apply the brakes! I don’t even ask about it because it happens literally every 3 minutes. Her driving is so erratic that it must wear the car completely out. The alternating between accelerating and braking for no reason can make one physically tired from trying to keep your balance. When I am driving, I think I might hit the brakes on the car ONCE on a trip from our flat to my office. When she makes the same trip I swear she applies the brakes 25 times.

Now back to my original point. The Saudis are on to something with this ban on women drivers. I think every country should have a no female driver policy, at least during work hours and on the weekends.

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Jordanians should be be proud (editorial)

Monday, 09 May 2011 07:05

As protests lose momentum in Jordan, it once again becomes evident to this observer that Jordanians are a more rational and tolerant sort than can be found elsewhere in the region. Fewer protests and dwindling numbers of protesters have been attributed to several causes including some groups taking a "we have asked and now we will wait for the answer" approach and others taking time out for introspection and reflection on their success and strategies.

Still others might say that as the weather turns more hospitable, fewer young people will take to the streets to protest because they will be consumed with other summer-time activities such as football. I say this last theory is rubbish. If I want to protest what I view as government corruption or oppression then warm and sunny weather is certainly a better environment to do so than is rain and blustery cold. Of the many theories that have been advanced as the reason for the decline in protests and numbers of protesters, certainly the weather is the least plausible.

I rather like the idea that Jordanians on the whole are more reasonable in their demands of the government. Jordanians have taken to the streets to ask the government for more freedoms and to battle corruption that deprives the average citizen the chance of prosperity. And by all accounts, the government has responded in a positive manner.

Task forces and committees have been formed to study opportunities for advancements of democracy. The ACC (Anti-Corruption Commission) continues to focus on investigating corrupt officials and business leaders. Although Jordan ranked 50th worldwide and 6th regionally in terms of corruption perceptions, down from 37th in 2004, more certainly needs to be done. Although corruption is not as rampant as many would suggest and corruption is never tolerable, it also takes time to root out. This drop in the corruption perception index certainly bears witness that King Abdullah's government views this as a serious problem and is taking steps to eliminate this insidious problem.

Media outlets, particularly the local news websites, contributed to the higher ceiling of freedom in covering the corruption cases. It has become normal to see official media outlets like the Jordan News Agency, Petra, and Jordan Television covering major corruption cases involving prominent figures and former officials. Ten years ago this level of media coverage would have been unheard of.

With these positive steps being taken by the authorities, it is incumbent upon the good people of Jordan to step back and let the government respond to their demands. It has become apparent that the Jordanian people are doing just that. To the outside world, this is what separates the people of Jordan from the rest of the Middle East. In an era of regional instability, violent uprisings and religious discord, Jordanians value security, stability and the chance for a better future over all else.

The late King Hussein and now King Abdullah have proven themselves to be trustworthy stewards of the Jordanian people who view modernization and a free society as the key to long-term prosperity. As much as we all want to see more democratic economic freedom, we have to balance these demands with the necessary timetable to implement strategies that can insure these freedoms while protecting the security and stability of the Kingdom.

In my estimation, nothing would be more tragic than violent protests spurred by radical fringe groups that lead to political turmoil. This unrest would certainly destabilize the country and undo decades of progress in the area of democratic, economic and press freedoms. Unrest like that seen in Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Yemen and Syria would do untold damage to our economy and stability, not to mention our standing in the eyes of the world. As much as Jordanians value their culture and traditions, it is imperative that we allow our leadership to steer us into the 21st century and that we avoid falling into the vicious cycle of political instability that has plagued the region for the past 100 years.

The world is monitoring events in the region and Jordanians should be proud of the image we are portraying. Rather than succumbing to the media sensationalism that has gripped much of the region, the good people of Jordan have made their demands in a public and peaceful manner. Protests continued until the people were certain that their demands had been heard without allowing the fringe groups and radicals to hijack the movement. The King's government has acknowledged the protesters and has responded with good faith measures to meet the demands of the people. And now the people of Jordan have stepped back to watch and wait. And we should all be proud.

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