Not carrying a valid driving licence in Arabic, could land you in jail

If you plan to drive in Cairo, then make sure that you always carry a valid drivers licence in Arabic while at the wheel.

A new law has been passed / or is currently being strictly implemented, I'm not sure which.

But a non-Egyptian friend found this out the hard way when she got a call saying that her Egyptian husband had been jailed for a traffic offense. Her first reaction was that : someone had been badly hurt as a result of her husband's driving, but it seems that the infraction was a minor one: He was not carrying the international translation paper for his licence (grey coloured one with your photo in it)

He was later released when the right papers were produced, but it was a rude shock for the entire family which has never seen the inside of a jail before.

Please, if you plan to drive in Egypt, do carry all the necessary documents including a translation if you have an IDL issued in any language other than Arabic.

Stay safe, drive safe.

Someone else brought to my attention that if you are an Egyptian Resident or an Egyptian, then you need to have an Egyptian Driving License. An IDL from another (your own home) country is useless, if you are a resident here.

Dangerous Driving in Cairo

Anyone who has lived or visited CAiro, knows how dangerous the roads can be. But its sometimes difficult to explain how bad it is to folks back home.

Voila, BBC produces a video on the topic.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7904171.stm?lss

This will give the folks back home something to think about.

Cairo Traffic Commentary on the BBC

From The BBC

Christian Fraser discovers that a brush with death on Cairo's congested roads leaves no appetite for life in the fast lane.

Life in Cairo is a do or die race, in which you trample or are trampled. . .

. . . Modern Cairo was built to house four million people. It has now swelled to some 17 million which is why narrow two-way streets on the banks of the River Nile, are by 0900 local time transformed into four-lane carriageways. . .

. . .For a country that invented precision-engineered pyramids, its taxis are primitive, in all the wrong ways.

The upholstery of my taxi was the cheap nylon kind that delivers electric shocks to sweaty thighs. . .

. . . Ironically, the congestion that had brought us to this standstill was formed of rubberneckers, craning to look at the grisly aftermath of a five-car pile up on the other side. . .


Read the Entire Article here.


Thanks Rhonda for steering me towards this article.

Car Seats in Cairo ?

A lot of friends with young kids who visit Cairo, are aghast that taxis aren't equipped for Car Seats, even if they do bring their own seats along.

In countries like the US, you need an infant car seat even to bring a new baby home from the hospital.

A lot of expats in Egypt bring appropriate car seats with them from their home countries. There are some shops in Cairo which stock car seats but they aren't as well stocked as parents would like. Also the prices in Cairo are quite prohibitive (as I heard from a friend here, who just delivered her first baby - Mabrook!)

Most people in Cairo as I mentioned before, bring in their car seats from abroad, borrow it from a friend whose kid has outgrown their car seat, (infant car seats aren't appropriate for toddlers), or order them online and pay the shipping charges.

For those who have grown up with car seats, it may seem a huge safety hazard to take a child for a drive (especially in chaotic Cairo traffic) without belting them down into a car seat, but in Cairo as in India and many other countries, children are considered to be perfectly safe in their parents arms. If anything were to befall them it is either "inshallah" (God's will) or "karma" (fate).

Given the high incidence of accidents in Cairo, common sense would recommend a car seat, preferably one that could be strapped into a Universal Stroller so it has a two in one use.

New Traffic Laws in Egypt

All of us have at some time or the other despaired over the traffic situation in Cairo. The government is bringing some new laws into effect within a month or so. The spirit behind the laws seem good and hopefully, it will help bring about some order in the chaos on the streets. But only time will tell how well the implementation goes...

Following are the laws as mentioned on the Egypt State Information Website

Dear Driver

• Failing to buckle in your seat belt doubles the risk of your being in an accident and subjects you to a fine of EGP100 to EGP300.
• Hand-holding your cell-phone distracts your attention for driving and subjects you to a fine of EGP100 to EGP300.
• Besides putting you and other people in danger, driving in the opposite direction may cause accidents. You could be fined from EGP1000 to EGP3000.
• Parking in the wrong place causes traffic jams and could subject you to having your license suspended for a period of no less than 30 days.
• You could be imprisoned for a period of no less than six months and fined from EGP200 to EGP1000, if caught in the act of removing your car clampers.
• You could be imprisoned for a period of no less than six months and fined EGP300 for allowing acts of public indecencies to take place in your car.
• Driving at night without the head and tail lights and without the side mirrors subjects you to having your license suspended for a period of no less than six months.
• Driving in unauthorized processions subjects you to having your license suspended for a period of no less than 30 days.
• Having a triangle warning sign prevents road accidents when stopping at night. In the case it is absent your license could be removed for a period of no less than 30 days.
• A first-aid kit will help you take care of your injuries until the ambulance arrives.
• Failing to have a first-aid kit inside your car could subject you to suspending your car license for a period of no less than 30 days.
• Using projector headlights at night endangers other people's lives. Your license could be suspended for a period of no less than 30 days.
• Failing to wear your protective head-gear when riding your motorcycle could subject you to a fine of no less than EGP100.

What does this mean for you? Start following basics of driving on the road. Equip your car with a reflector triangle and a first aid kit.

The government rules do not mention anything about what should be in a first aid kit, but this link on Sahara Safaris official website is a good place to start. Scroll down a bit to get to the Medical Checklist.

Some of the medicines like dehydration powder may be required more when hiking/camping/offroading in the desert, but there is no harm in having a supply of them all in your car.

Also remember to check the first aid kit for expired medications every 3 to 6 months at least, we don't need any nasty side effects, do we? :)

Egypt - International Driving License - IDP

Applicants for an Egyptian driver’s license must be at least l8 years old. A certificate from an Egyptian ophthalmologist and physician must be obtained to verify blood type, visual and physical health. These certificates along with a valid driver’s license from your home country, two photographs, and LE 55 should be taken to the Traffic Department at Attaba Square in Cairo or at Giza. All applicants are now being given an oral test on international road signs as well as a road test to certify driver’s capability. The applicant must provide his/her own vehicle for the test.

If an Egyptian driver’s license is lost, it must be reported to the nearest police station and a police report issued.

Per local law, all employees must carry third party personal liability insurance (for bodily injury) on vehicles operating in Egypt. This insurance is issued prior to the release of a vehicle from Customs and is renewed as part of the annual GOE vehicle registration procedure. It is valid for l3 months plus one day.

An endorsement must be made on this policy when plate numbers are changed in Cairo. A vehicle is not properly insured if the registration validity has lapsed. The current rates for minimum vehicle insurance varies from LE 80 to LE 100, depending on engine size.

Other insurance coverage, such as third party liability for material damage and comprehensive, is also available and optional. Third party liability insurance, however, should not be confused with the mandatory bodily injury insurance obtained during registration and licensing. Insurance may be obtained from any authorised insurance company in Egypt.

NOTE: Driver’s license, registration and insurance papers must be carried in your vehicle at all times.

The Traffic Department and the police strictly enforce speed limits throughout Egypt and, unless posted otherwise, speed limits are 60 kilometers in town and 90 kilometers out of town. The police utilises radar and motorcycle patrols on both the Desert and Delta Roads to Alexandria to enforce the law. If you are stopped, present your driver’s license to the officer and remain calm. You could receive a verbal warning or have your license confiscated. If the officer keeps your license, you will receive a receipt for it. Speeding is a serious offense in Egypt and carries fines of LE l00 or more for minor offenses.

From http://www.egypt.alloexpat.com

Another friend of mine (American studying in Cairo)recommended: Get an IDP(International Drivers Permit) from the country that issued your original driver's license.

For the US, the AAA will issue it without you needing to be present, someone else can apply for the IDP for you. All you have to do is send this person some documents.

If getting your IDP in Egypt is a hassle, then I'd suggest you do it through someone back at home. To find out what docs you need, call the AAA in the states and ask them.

Shuttle to AUC's New Campus

Pursuant to my article on AUC's New Campus here is the link to AUC's shuttle service schedule to the new campus.

http://www1.aucegypt.edu/NCD/onthemove/schedule.htm

The Airport Bus

This information too is gleaned from multiple sources.

Thanks to George, Sonja, Chad, Ian and Andy.

When you exit the arrivals terminal, just walk ahead for about 3-5 minutes or so and you'll run into a big parking lot with buses. You can ask the people around you and they should be able to direct you.

There are 2 buses:

1. 50 piastre bus, which tends to be old and very, very slow. I took this in late January when it was still cold. The doors never closed and it was an ice box for the 45 min trip back to Ramses station.

2. LE 2 bus--if you feel like it, you can splurge and treat yourself to this bus. It should also drop you off at Ramses or by the Egyptian Museum. The 2 LE bus is bus # 356. They are good buses. They are air conditioned.

To get to the airport, you should go to the area next to the Egyptian Museum, under the overpass with all the buses. The area is called Abdel Moneim Riad I've never done this, so you should check with others first...

When you exit the arrivals terminal, just walk ahead for about 3-5 minutes or so and you'll run into a big parking lot with buses. You can ask the people around you and they should be able to direct you.

Note that this is if you arrive in terminal 1 (the newest terminal, where most international passenger flights seem to come in). If you arrive in Terminal 2 (the old terminal), I read in the Lonely Planet that one bus picks up there (though I'm not sure exactly where) until midnight, and the other all night. The transfer bus from one terminal to the other is very well marked now! It seems to run all night, to boot (or at least until 2 or 3 am).

The easiest way that I've found to find bus stations or get help when at the airport or similarly touristy areas is the following: find a taxi driver (or anyone really) and indicate that 5 pounds is all you have to spend, and that you need to get to downtown. Taxis won't even take you from one terminal to the other for 5 pounds, so having already lost you as a potential customer, they will tell you where the bus is.

Also, if you want to take the bus from Abd el Moneam Riyad or Ramses, you may have to get off early (likely when a bunch of other people get off) at a central area where the transfer buses stop and hop on a transfer bus to the proper terminal. I asked the driver, and then asked him again when people hopped off - it worked out.

Added on 9 Oct 08: Check the Cairo airport website on http://www.cairo-airport.com/services_transportation.asp for more details.

Accident - Bloody Cairo Taxis !

Met with an accident today.

Was carefully opening my door at Kimo Market in Maadi where the driver had stopped to the side of the road. There was a car approaching in the opposite direction, I had enough margin to open the door without him bumping into me. There was a taxi behind us who had slowed down as we stopped, my friend was getting out from the door on the right and I was carefully opening the door behind the drivers seat.

Suddenly the idiotic traffic guy gets a burst of adrenaline, fancies himself as the next Bruce Willis in Die Hard 5 and decides to squeeze through at full speed. He banged into my door which I was carefully opening almost dislocating my shoulder with the force at which he hit it.

Fortunately with the grace of God, I suffered no more than a sore shoulder and broken fingernails from the impact. Can't say the same for the car though. Since he hit the door at the handle point where it was opening, the door isn't shutting completely although it can still be locked, but it has been bent out of shape, so it doesn't seal shut.


I'm just thanking God, that his rash behaviour happened a few seconds earlier, before I put my foot out of the door.

This is our first major accident in Cairo after more than a year and a half. We have had the regular bumps and scratches when the car has been left in parking but nothing as big as this. We are extremely careful passengers and we have a very safe and careful driver who has been with us for over a year. Unfortunately in Cairo, damage to you and your car is never in your control with all the other crazy drivers on the raod.

The taxi guys are quite a menace on the streets. Not all of them but most of them.

This particular taxi fiend just buzzed off with a noncommittal "maalesh" and little more than a scratch on his car ! (Nothing visible over all his pre-existing dents and scratches)