On the roads

A visit to most African countries requires an armful of injections to protect aganist various nasty sounding diseases. There are some like Ebola which was present in Uganda when we visited there last year, which no injection will protect you against. As I reflect on my various developing world experiences including Africa, my greatest concerns have not been about the various diseases you can catch, but rather about the risky nature of travelling on the roads. The vehicles are often overcrowded, not to mention badly maintained, and the drivers frequently don't appear to exercise reasonable care. I can vividly recall one bus journey in India many years ago, where the bus driver drove as if he really believed in reincarnation and wanted to check it out that very day! For those of you who are planning to visit Lesotho, it is actually one of the better countries I have visited in terms of road safety. The picture above was taken in Tanzania. Some of the main roads around Arusha (near Kilimanjaro) have had so many accidents in recent years, that the authorities have resorted to putting traffic calming speed bumps on the main roads. To get the picture, just imagine going on a trip to Nairn on the A96 and having to go over 50 speed bumps on the way. It certainly calms down the traffic.