Thursday, September 9, 2010

Great cars, terrible drivers






I’m no die hard fan, but I’m pretty sure that the Ferrari team is a pretty big deal when it comes to Formula One. I’m also pretty sure that neither Michael Schumacher nor Reubens Barrichello - the only two Ferrari drivers that I can name, one of them probably the one of most successful in the history of the sport - are of Italian descent.

Now I know why. Italian drivers, and consequentially the challenge of driving on roads full of them, is life threatening at best.

It’s not often that you have to check your ribs for bruising after a hug, but it was a valid concern after having Emma hold on while riding on the back of our scooter along the cliff side roads of the Amalfi Coast. And I’ve never concentrated so hard behind the wheel as I did while driving the Fiat Panda on the narrow cobbled mountain roads around our farm in San Giovanni. No matter how short the journey, I would feel mentally exhausted and totally amped as I clambered out of the tiny car, mopping the nervous energy from my forehead.

Scooting around cities in Thailand wasn’t nearly as scary - at least the chaos there is (paradoxically) predictable. Italian roads seem to be a race, with no rules. People overtake on blind corners with less than 20m of clear road, often with opposing traffic. Mountain villages are full of (two way) streets that are only wide enough to fit a single, very small car, causing endless jams while normal size cars reverse around blind corners, or when miniature cars like our Panda meet other Pandas head on.

Driving NZ roads will forever be boring after this.

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