Driving Lessons

I like to think that my attitude in driving is a litmus test of my spiritual walk. Driving in Kampala is more than a litmus test, it is a spiritual experience.

For starters, cars drive on the left here. This means that all my road safety and driving instincts are off. Even if I keep repeating "stay left" over and over again in my mind, I look right at every intersection first. I need a renewing of the mind and a retraining of my habits. Not only do cars drive on the left, but there are many obstacles such as large animals on the roads that I don't normally find in the States. In addition, lanes are optional and many roads are not actually wide enough for two cars. As I said, driving is an experience. What makes it spiritual, is both the praying one does and the lessons one learns in the process.

Today I saw a Ugandan truck, driving backwards downhill towards a round-a-bout that had the words "I trust in God" on its front window. Indeed, driving here is a act of trusting in God. Road safety and traveling mercies are key and non-perfunctory prayer requests here.

Here are my top five driving lessons so far:

1 Be sure you have 4 wheel drive. There are several dirt roads I use that people in the States who want to go off roading would pay to drive on. Vehicles often have one wheel doing air-time, four wheel drive is not a luxury here. In spiritual terms, all parts of my life need to be engaged, there is no coasting.

2. Pay attention to the present and future more than the past. Looking in the rear view mirror is not as critical as looking next to the car for bikes, motorcycles, cows, goats, pedestrians etc.. Looking ahead is also important, as speed bumps and potholes are a plenty. Looking back isn't as important since that is what horns are for.

3. It is good to follow the lead of some vehicles. If a car or truck swerves for an unknown reason, I had probably do the same. There is likely something on the road that I can't see but would be best to avoid, like a pothole. However, it is is a taxi (here a taxi is a 15-passenger van) that swerves, it is most likely to pick up a person, it is best not to follow suite.

4. Keep the window cracked if possible. While there is a temptation to close the windows and turn up the air-conditioning, this isolates the driver from critical information. Keeping the window open allows for a connection with the sounds of the street that inform the ears, helping focus the eyes.

5. $20 and ten strong men will get you out of a ditch. A few days ago, I drove too cautiously, keeping a little too far left on a narrow road. My wheels expanded the informal drainage ditch. In less than half an hour, with much discussion and some negotiation on the cost of help, the jeep was lifted the two feet up and half a foot to the right, to be back on the road. The cost - my pride and 30,000 Shillings.