Driving in Egypt

[aisha24]

Hi I really like the alternate laws sent by other Egypt search forum members:

the fines are paid not by the driver but the perpetrator in my law. [Wink] but prizes are also on offer.

Being hassled or directed by any man or child whilst trying to park your car.
On the spot 150 press ups for offender.

Any policemen found asleep on any road or highway.
1000 press ups on the spot.

Any police cars found with sleeping or dozing policemen lying on the seats.
1000 lines each of ' I must not fall asleep whilst on duty' and a 50le fine.

Driving car with seat in the fully reclined position with one hand on a mobile phone and the other on any type of fast food. 12 months solitary confinement in Luxor prison.

Driving a truck and navigating a right hand bend with one hand holding a shisha pipe and the other
rolling a joint. Top Gear award for advanced driving skills.

Sitting children or other small animals in anything but a padded restraint in the back seat of the car. Transfer of entire bank accounts into one of 5 recognised charities.

Killing a sleeping policemen sleeping on the stop line at traffic lights by running your front wheels over the line. Blue Peter badge and free Happy meal at Mac Donalds.

Driving your car with a foreigner in it.
30 days in prison.

Driving your car with anything foreign in it including a Blaupunkt stereo system. 500le fine

Driving a foreign car in Egypt. 3 years compulsory military service.

Egyptian male driving 3 scantily clad Russian tourists in his car. Firing squad.

Driving any type of vehicle with any type of licence. Instant revoking of Sporting Club membership and 1000le fine.

Driving and spotting ANY traffic light on any highway or street working or faulty. 500le in prize money.

Driving in any direction but straight ahead. 5000le fine and mandatory alcohol and drug test.

Exceeding the speed limits by anything less than 50kmph will result in 3 years incarceration in the state mental facility.

Stopping at any checkpoint or stop signal, or train level crossing whilst train approaching. CAT scan and frontal lobectomy.

Transporting more than 15 passengers in a 4 door family saloon car . Compulsory adoption of 3 Tanzanian children and their care till age 45 years.

Knocking a tourist policeman off his camel at the pyramids. 2 week holiday in Tenerife all inclusive for 4.

Being able to provide photographic evidence of donkeys or other farm animals using pedestrian foot bridges, crossings, or flyovers. Brand spanking new top of the range camcorder of your choice to the value of 10,000le.

Taking clear photographs over the walls of military buildings whilst riding side saddle on a moped or other vehicle below 50cc capacity.

The Evel Kinevel Award for outrageous stunts performed whilst either highly intoxicated or insane.

Bald tyres
No cap with rag wicks stuffed in the benzene tanks [Eek!]
No brakes
No lights
No mirrors
No indication
Bumpers held on with Chiclets
10 and under drivers
No baffle on the exhausts
No exhausts
No windscreens
Driving at night with no lights
Driving during the day with all lights on
Horns attached to accelerator pedals
Closed venetian blinds on all windows whilst driving and silver reflectors on passenger side of the windscreen.
Family saloon car
Driving with so many stuffed animals on the back window shelf, that the rear-vision mirror’s use is rendered useless.

Talking on the mobile with one hand and gesturing with the other while the car is left to steer itself.


I am sure there are many more

 

[Lsab]

Brilliant!!! You are obviously a woman with much experience of driving in Egypt...thanks for a good, long laugh!

(I recognised a good half of what you wrote from the driving standards in Bahrain too but what's scarier there is you can add fast cars and good roads into the equation, so seeing a Baharini mum zooming along with her baby on her lap, mobile phone clamped to her ear, is terrifying. All the laws are in place but rarely enforced. )

 

[Peter Mitry]

Brilliant!!! You are obviously a woman with much experience of driving in Egypt...thanks for a good, long laugh!

(I recognised a good half of what you wrote from the driving standards in Bahrain too but what's scarier there is you can add fast cars and good roads into the equation, so seeing a Baharini mum zooming along with her baby on her lap, mobile phone clamped to her ear, is terrifying. All the laws are in place but rarely enforced. )

From my limited experience of driving in Egypt the 'Golden Rule' seems to be 'there are no rules'!!

 

[propertastic]

Does anyone know any petrol station in Hurghada that has some petrol at the moment?

I drove around four last night and they'd all run out.

I'm just running on fumes now!

 

[dave99]

More rules are a coming

From my limited experience of driving in Egypt the 'Golden Rule' seems to be 'there are no rules'!!

Last week I noticed some new road signs in Hurghada for:
No Parking
No sounding horns

- it will be interesting to see if it works and the traffic police take action.
.
..

 

[aisha24]

re traffic

Hi just arrived back from Hurghada last night and thought you may like to know that 2 sets of Pedestrian crossings appeared over night in front of El Fayrouz beach nr Kentucky in Segalla and in front of the Telephone exchange in front of seagull Hotel.
They are bright yellow stripes and pictures of walking people drawn on the floor. The words written in Arabic says "slow".

However as usual these are to no avail, I watched many a tourist take their life in their hands trying to cross the road in the mistaken belief that if they stepped on to this crossing that traffic would stop.. in fact the cars went faster.

When the odd car did stop to let anyone across the traffic behind broke into bedlam shouting and tooting car horns repeatedly.
i am sure that if traffic lights are not put up at these crossings asap that their will be a terrible accident.
The traffic in Segalla is horrendous now and without proper control it is about to become a little Cairo.

 

[Peter Mitry]

Petrol in Hurghada

Does anyone know any petrol station in Hurghada that has some petrol at the moment?

I drove around four last night and they'd all run out.

I'm just running on fumes now!

Call Bob Khalil; there was one in Dahar this morning near the Visa office that had 90 octane!!

 

[dave99]

New trafic lights

Hi just arrived back from Hurghada last night and thought you may like to know that 2 sets of Pedestrian crossings appeared over night in front of El Fayrouz beach nr Kentucky in Segalla and in front of the Telephone exchange in front of seagull Hotel.
They are bright yellow stripes and pictures of walking people drawn on the floor. The words written in Arabic says "slow".

However as usual these are to no avail, I watched many a tourist take their life in their hands trying to cross the road in the mistaken belief that if they stepped on to this crossing that traffic would stop.. in fact the cars went faster.

When the odd car did stop to let anyone across the traffic behind broke into bedlam shouting and tooting car horns repeatedly.
i am sure that if traffic lights are not put up at these crossings asap that their will be a terrible accident.
The traffic in Segalla is horrendous now and without proper control it is about to become a little Cairo.

I also noted that at some of the busy roundabouts that there are now some large trafic lights with a countdown timer - just made for the race track !!!

.
.

 

[aisha24]

re traffic lights

Hi
Yes I also saw these traffic lights in Midan and Dahar... mad.. the cars sit there revving their engines as the timer counts down.. hilarious.
I also saw a man on the back of a donkey waiting for the lights to go green.....

 

[Peter Mitry]

Egyptian Traffic Lights

Hi
Yes I also saw these traffic lights in Midan and Dahar... mad.. the cars sit there revving their engines as the timer counts down.. hilarious.
I also saw a man on the back of a donkey waiting for the lights to go green.....

I thought this was a great idea and it would save anyone 'jumping the lights'. The theory was good but in practice they ignore the counter and go anyway! When I say anything to anyone I get the standard reply 'Welcome to Egypt'.!!

 

[propertastic]

Call Bob Khalil; there was one in Dahar this morning near the Visa office that had 90 octane!!

Wow, 90 octane. That would be fine.

The only petrol that was still available that I found last night was 80. I wasn't sure whether something that low would totally kill the engine and so I stayed away.

If I can't find anything better though, I will have to go with it.

 

[wellheld]

From my limited experience of driving in Egypt the 'Golden Rule' seems to be 'there are no rules'!!

It may have changed but when I lived in Alexandria the "driving test" was taken in the test centre car, at the test centre, and involved an s-bend reversing, the examiner then changed gear for you and you drove the course forwards.
Then you had to answer 5 theory questions. All the Brits who took the test together were asked the same 5 questions,and yes, they were in the same room at the same time!!!!!!!!!
So I think the Egyptian standard of driving is completely understandable, mad, but understandable. I just used to show my provisional licence and smile sweetly.
Hope this helps. Helen.

 

[danny]

It may have changed but when I lived in Alexandria the "driving test" was taken in the test centre car, at the test centre, and involved an s-bend reversing, the examiner then changed gear for you and you drove the course forwards.
Then you had to answer 5 theory questions. All the Brits who took the test together were asked the same 5 questions,and yes, they were in the same room at the same time!!!!!!!!!
So I think the Egyptian standard of driving is completely understandable, mad, but understandable. I just used to show my provisional licence and smile sweetly.
Hope this helps. Helen.

I was talking to one of my Egyptian friends this week and he told me his wife was taking her test shortly. He has been giving her lessons (his ability to drive is questionable),she has never had any proffessional help at all and the test is to drive through 3 cones and give the examiner 100le and within 10 minutes she will have a licence. I think driving through 3 cones is a waste of time which would be better spent on being tested on how to use the horn.

 

[Organics1]

Driving in Egypt sounds a doddle compared to over here in Portugal, Honest!!!

Impatient, Rude, Constant beeping of horns, Terrible road signs, Loads of drink driving (on the first weekend in August there were 18 deaths on the roads) overtaking on corners, no indicating on roundabouts, speeding, the list goes on and on.

As Bonnie Tyler put it (who now lives in Algarve) "The Portuguese people are lovely until they get in their cars and then something happens to them"

 

[Lsab]

Driving in Egypt sounds a doddle compared to over here in Portugal, Honest!!!

Impatient, Rude, Constant beeping of horns, Terrible road signs, Loads of drink driving (on the first weekend in August there were 18 deaths on the roads) overtaking on corners, no indicating on roundabouts, speeding, the list goes on and on.

As Bonnie Tyler put it (who now lives in Algarve) "The Portuguese people are lovely until they get in their cars and then something happens to them"

Bit of a world wide thing then - you should see them in the Gulf ! Maybe it's something to do with the heat

 

[Georgina]

Egyptian Driving Licence

Quote from page 1:
Driving your own Car:
If you’re living here on a long term tourist visa, you can legally drive on a valid international driver’s license for (1) month. If you intend to live here for an extended period of time or have a resident visa, you need an Egyptian driver’s license. To obtain this, you must go to a license office and bring:


 Your passport and a valid visa
 Your (4) photos – passport size.
 A note from both a medical and eye doctor certifying your good health.
 A lab report stating your blood type.
 A statement from your Embassy confirming your place of residence in Egypt (with Arabic translation).

My friend Diana and I are planning a big trip to Siwa Oasis here N29 12.466 E25 26.098 in her car and I want to get my Egyptian Driving Licence sorted. I am going to the hospital today to get the medical and eye certificates and lap report sorted. Not sure about the statement from the Embassy bit. Has any European tried to get their Egyptian licence in Hurghada recently? My doctor said there is a guy working at the hospital that is a trained lawyer and would be useful to take along to ease the process?

 

[Georgina]

Quote from page 1:
Driving your own Car:
If you’re living here on a long term tourist visa, you can legally drive on a valid international driver’s license for (1) month. If you intend to live here for an extended period of time or have a resident visa, you need an Egyptian driver’s license. To obtain this, you must go to a license office and bring:


 Your passport and a valid visa
 Your (4) photos – passport size.
 A note from both a medical and eye doctor certifying your good health.
 A lab report stating your blood type.
 A statement from your Embassy confirming your place of residence in Egypt (with Arabic translation).

My friend Diana and I are planning a big trip to Siwa Oasis here N29 12.466 E25 26.098 in her car and I want to get my Egyptian Driving Licence sorted. I am going to the hospital today to get the medical and eye certificates and lap report sorted. Not sure about the statement from the Embassy bit. Has any European tried to get their Egyptian licence in Hurghada recently? My doctor said there is a guy working at the hospital that is a trained lawyer and would be useful to take along to ease the process?

The story so far.........

Went to the hospital, which by the way was on fire, but plenty of guys running around with buckets of water and the arrival of the fire brigade soon had that under control. (Note smokers: distinguish cigarettes before throwing in bin!.) Had my blood group test done in ten minutes. OK but it is different to what I thought it should be? He said he did it twice and went off to do it again. Same result! Later contacted the Blood Donor people in UK to confirm my group and yes it is different to what they say here. Will get a third opinion!

Had the medical done LE45 no probs. Had the eye test LE45 and he recommended I need glasses for the distance now as well as just for reading. Off to the optician and ordered vari-focal, anti-glare, Italian frames with the progressive sunglass bit when you go in the sun. LE1,454 and they will be ready in about a week.

Met up with a 'lawyer' Friday night in Tamr Henna square for a tea to discuss the paperwork I need to take. Now his English was as good as my Arabic but I think even with perfect English he would have still tried to be as confusing as possible. He said I have to live in a registered property to be able to get a driving license?!? But he still asked for a copy of my contract for my property?!? And the price for this fake piece of paper saying I live in a registered property and everything else for this license will be? Maybe LE500, LE600, Le700, not more than LE1,000! Hmmmmmm. And we have to go at 9am the next morning to spend five hours in Hurghada to get this registered property paper?!? One hour later and still confused as hell and this 'lawyer' with a constant unnerving smile I decided to give up!

Off to the marina party and bumped into an Egyptian friend and told him the tale. He said he had helped another European to get his license and I don't need this registered property paper and he would come with me to the Traffic Police.

So off we went yesterday in my friend Diana's car together with Ahmed. The office is really chaotic with many Egyptians queuing at all the windows outside, well no queuing is the wrong word but squashed in a huddle all trying to get served at the same time and me somewhere in the middle. We then moved inside and were dealt with by a nice lady who took my passport and British driving license. She kept a copy of the passport and my annual tourist visa stamp. She also looked at my contract for my property. We then had to wait a long time to see the 'Chief' who asked Ahmed a few questions about me and requested a copy of my property contract and told us to come back in 2-3 weeks!

To be continued...................................

 

[GM43]

New parking sign

Who knows the exact meaning of this sign?
Till now I have seen 3 in Hurghada, 2 on Sheraton Road, one on the road to Dahar.

 

[M Butler]

I also like the signs as you enter Hurghada from El Gouna direction. They are so long that by the time you have read them you have probably missed the guy cutting you up and crashed the car.

Margaret

 

[Georgina]

Had my blood group test done in ten minutes. OK but it is different to what I thought it should be? He said he did it twice and went off to do it again. Same result! Later contacted the Blood Donor people in UK to confirm my group and yes it is different to what they say here. Will get a third opinion!

Had another blood group test done at Nile Hospital in Hurghada and that test came out the same as El Gouna hospital. She also did the test three times! So the Blood Donar people in the UK have me down with the wrong blood group!