Traveling around the city of Dakar is interesting, to say the least! All but the few major streets are dirt streets, and not just dirt streets, but streets full of huge potholes! Add the heavy traffic, very few traffic lights, and various kinds and conditions of vehicles, and there is reason to be concerned! Frequently, we see disabled vehicles or someone changing a flat tire. The good thing is that traffic never goes over 25 mph, so in the event of an accident, the cars get dented but usually no one is hurt!
The first two photos are of a major street. It even has lights! This is the only street we have seen with lights. The smaller streets seem to be especially dark as there are not many cars to help illuminate the way. (When we leave the church after dark and walk down the small streets to find a taxi, we must use flashlights because of no lights, uneven sidewalks, and potholes.)
The next one shows one of the traffic circles. It does not look too bad in this photo because the traffic is not heavy, but in the evenings this circle has bumper to bumper cars, as well as motorcycles, horse carts, people walking, etc.! If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see vendors who stop cars at the side or median of the street and people entering traffic on foot from all sides.
Notice the men trying to sell merchandise in the middle of heavy traffic! Also notice how close the vehicles are to each other. The vendors are very brave to move as the traffic moves to sell their products.
The next photos show the crowded streets with various vehicles in competition for the roadway. Big always wins.
Next is another traffic circle which seems to have no logic to it. Yet, people and animals somehow get through it with only minor damages.
It is very common to see broken car mirrors or even missing mirrors. There are no vehicle inspections to ensure that mirrors (or anything else on the vehicle) are operational. During one taxi ride in the crowded market area, our taxi knocked the mirror off of another taxi, and no one stopped. Then a few minutes later our taxi was rear ended by a motorcycle that damaged its headlight and fender. Again, no one stopped; the motorcycle rider just pulled off the damaged parts and threw them to one side.
The first two photos are of a major street. It even has lights! This is the only street we have seen with lights. The smaller streets seem to be especially dark as there are not many cars to help illuminate the way. (When we leave the church after dark and walk down the small streets to find a taxi, we must use flashlights because of no lights, uneven sidewalks, and potholes.)
The next one shows one of the traffic circles. It does not look too bad in this photo because the traffic is not heavy, but in the evenings this circle has bumper to bumper cars, as well as motorcycles, horse carts, people walking, etc.! If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see vendors who stop cars at the side or median of the street and people entering traffic on foot from all sides.
Notice the men trying to sell merchandise in the middle of heavy traffic! Also notice how close the vehicles are to each other. The vendors are very brave to move as the traffic moves to sell their products.
The next photos show the crowded streets with various vehicles in competition for the roadway. Big always wins.
Next is another traffic circle which seems to have no logic to it. Yet, people and animals somehow get through it with only minor damages.
It is very common to see broken car mirrors or even missing mirrors. There are no vehicle inspections to ensure that mirrors (or anything else on the vehicle) are operational. During one taxi ride in the crowded market area, our taxi knocked the mirror off of another taxi, and no one stopped. Then a few minutes later our taxi was rear ended by a motorcycle that damaged its headlight and fender. Again, no one stopped; the motorcycle rider just pulled off the damaged parts and threw them to one side.
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