Driving in Ecuador

Having just made an excruciatingly long trip by car to the beach and back, I thought I had gathered enough experience on Ecuadorian driving to make a few observations.

1) Ecuadorian drivers have a much broader 'vocabulary' than do US drivers. This includes, but is not limited to, not only flashing bright lights but randomly turning off headlights (even at night), and honking horns at anything that moves (cars, dogs, pedestrians). They also drive much more freely - lanes, stop signs, and passing rules do not apply. Yeah, passing big trucks on tight curves puts a few premature gray hairs on the head. Turn signals, however, are conspicuously few and far between...

2) The Golden Rule does not apply. Instead, it has been replaced by 'Do unto others as no one else is allowed to do to you.' For example, honking at a bus in front of you and then swerving into the other lane to pass it, no matter what the oncoming traffic looks like, is perfectly fine to do, but when another oncoming car is trying to pass a bus and comes briefly into your lane, they definitely deserve a few honks/flashing lights and a very unfriendly hand signal (from which there are many to choose).

3) Every curve should be handled as if you were driving a Ferrari. You could be in a Peugeot Deux Chevaux or a Yugo Lemon and still be expected to take those sharp mountain curves at 90 miles/hr. So there really is no need to argue over who gets to sit in that dreaded middle seat, as everyone ends up there at some point, seatbelts and original seating irrespective.

4) If you don't make your passengers look like this:















...then you haven't been driving correctly.