Was I suddenly living in an episode of Stranger Things? This is how I felt riding in a car in Cyprus— with the driver seated on the right side of the car and driving on the left side of the road. That’s the opposite of what we’re used to from riding in cars in the U.S. What a way to begin my journey in Cyprus aboard the 2:00 A.M. airport shuttle bound for Nicosia! The ride was such an adrenaline rush that I still remember it like it was yesterday.
More nerve-wracking and stressful still was my car trip with one of my friends as she drove on the left side of the road for the very first time soon after our arrival in Cyprus! I tagged along at her request to help her navigate and make sure she was driving in the correct lane at all times. How quickly would my friend adjust to the new driving pattern? Would I feel safe? Would I live?
That may sound overly dramatic, but driving in Cyprus can be dangerous indeed. According to the U.S. State Department’s yearly report on crime and safety in Cyprus, the country has one of the highest rates of traffic deaths in Europe per capita (per capita: relative to each person in the country) because people drive so aggressively here. The report describes driving conditions in Cyprus as hazardous overall. However, that’s not to say that all Cypriot drivers are unsafe! That would be an overgeneralization that isn’t true for everyone here. I have definitely ridden with some very safe Cypriot drivers. Some are so safe that they even pull off of the road to answer a phone call— a safety measure that many Americans don’t take!
But on that highway journey, cars whizzed by us, honking aggressively as they passed our little 2006 Toyota Vitz.
