Here’s a question for you…do you know what is the worst selling item in the whole of Tenerife and in fact, probably in the whole of the Canary Islands?…the answer – indicator bulbs.
The thing is, they are hardly ever used and so rarely wear out – it’s a great idea for saving money, but not so good when you’re trying to second guess where the driver approaching your entry to the roundabout is going to go – It’s time to get your crystal ball out…!!!
Sorry, thinking about now, I’m wrong – they do use their indicators. Yes, when the car in front of them is slowing down, they decide to put on their left indicator. They’re not going anywhere themselves, just indicating left to warn you that they’re slowing down themselves. That in itself kind-of makes sense, but when you think that they’re happy to do that but don’t bother to indicate when they are really turning a corner, doesn’t make sense.
Yup, driving in Tenerife can be a very dangerous pass-time.
It’s not that the Spanish haven’t had cars for long – although the Spanish motor industry wasn’t as developed in the mid 20th Century as a lot of other countries in Europe, but come the time of the 60’s they had a good number of cars, so lack of experience in driving isn’t their excuse.
Do you know, I’ve even seen cars teaching students to drive not bother indicating and the Police are as bad as well…, don’t get me started on them, if they can’t do it properly, then what can we expect of the mere public?
OK, OK…I’m on a rant. I’m a member of a Facebook page called XXX head drivers and I’ve taken the liberty of copying some of the photos taken by some of the group members.
There’s a saying amongst foreigners that you’re not living the Canarian way unless you park your car on a zebra crossing. Obviously I’m not suggesting that you do it so that you can add that to your list of living the Canarian way, but why do people just park on the zebra crossing at the shops because it’s a little closer to the shop itself.
…Or even better….why not ask your friend to park on the zebra crossing with you at the same time when you go and pick your kids up from the school…that’s a great idea because then, none of the kids can cross the road safely to see their parents who are waiting the other side of the road…
Or even better, the supermarket car park is busy, it’s a really hot day, so why not take up 2 car parking spaces, that way, someone has to park that much further away from the supermarket and walk the extra distance in the heat…
Or maybe the champion of champions could be the driver of the black Seat Ibiza rental car that very cleverly managed to make 4 spaces totally unusable outside Chafiras in Las Chafiras…that just goes to show that the tourists are up to it as well…
To be honest, driving in Tenerife isn’t all bad – you just need to have your wits about you…and maybe drive one of those car crushing 4X4 Monster trucks…
