One of the things newly arrived expats in Morocco often ask me is: “How do you find driving here?” My answer is always an enthusiastic, “It’s great!” followed by how I actually enjoy driving in Morocco more than driving in the U. S. in many aspects.
Adapting to the Moroccan roads and streets can look scary and daunting for newly arrived expats. I was nervous and my palms were sweaty during my first week of driving in Morocco, especially when I was approaching a busy roundabout – I couldn’t figure out who had the right of way and how many lanes actually existed. But I quickly learned and adapted. Some things were annoying (and still are), such as people driving as if a two-lane road was five-lane and a one-way street was two-ways, but I also found the Moroccan driver to be very generous and forgiving when I made mistakes.
I first learned to drive in rural roads of South Carolina, then learned the interstates of Atlanta metro area, spent about a year driving on the wrong side of the road sitting on the wrong side in the car in Thailand, and more recently my driving habits were shaped in the vast expanse of freeways in Southern California. Of course, none of the above places are like Morocco. But I’ve adapted, and if I could have adapted to driving in Morocco, any expat who’s driven anywhere else before can do so as well.
After five years of driving in Morocco, I find the following tips to be helpful in adapting to the Moroccan roads. I came up with eleven, but there are perhaps more.
1. Always drive defensively.
Keeping the rules is not enough in Morocco. Staying in your own lane or even your side of the road is not enough. Bend the rules if you have to, but you have to defend and protect yourself and your loved ones when you are driving here. Give more space between your car and other cars to prevent and protect. Be on the defensive as you drive.
2. Slow down even on green lights.
And make sure you look sideways as you pass a green light, especially in early morning or late in the evening when traffic is light. A good Moroccan friend of mine told me this time after time. Sometimes, people ignore traffic lights when there are not many cars around, so it’s a good practice to consider a green light as a flashing orange light in the U. S. which means, “Carefully proceed.”
3. Don’t go over the speed limit.
The police here strictly enforces the speed limit, and even going over a mere 5 km/h can get you a speeding ticket, which costs 400 DH. So, be aware of the speed limit and stick to it if you don’t want to pay a fine. (Some friends of mine play “dumb foreigners” by pretending to understand no Arabic or French, but I don’t recommend this tactic for respectful intercultural citizens.)
4. Let other drivers see what you are doing.
It’s important for you to drive in a way that communicates to other drivers what you are doing and what you are trying to do. It’s best if you slowly accelerate, especially when you are making a turn. When cars suddenly come out of nowhere, the other drivers don’t have time to see and respond, so the chance of accident goes up. When you are trying to enter a road or street from a side street, it’s best that you do it at a slow pace so that in case you didn’t see another car coming at you, at least they see you first and have enough time to steer away or stop in time.
5. Communicate with other drivers and pedestrians with gestures and eye contact and… honking.
A lot is communicated just by an eye contact, especially here in Morocco. When you are trying to navigate through a full parking lot or get out of a traffic jam, you would need to let other drivers and pedestrians know what you are trying to do. Make eye contacts, use hand gestures, and sometimes, the best way to do this is, of course, blowing the horn.
6. Be aware of who has the right of way at different roundabouts.
Roundabouts have been popping up all over the place in this country for the last few years. Some of them give right of way to the cars which have already entered the roundabout turn whereas some others give right of way to the entry roads. You have to watch for signs on the entry roads. If there are stop or yield signs on entry roads, then those who already entered the roundabout have the right of way, but if there are no signs, then the drivers on the entry roads have priority. A lot of times, there would be signal lights at the entry roads that indicate they have the right of way.
7. Consider the center line and traffic lanes as “guidelines.”
Cars often go over the traffic lanes, and even the yellow center lines. Don’t get mad, but just drive around them or keep safe distance. Things are a lot more flexible here when it comes to driving.
8. Make sure your insurance hasn’t expired.
A friend of mine had an accident a few days after his liability auto insurance expired. It was the other driver’s fault, but because his insurance expired, it became his fault and the other driver was not required to pay for the repair of his car. It’s illegal to drive here without the car being covered by insurance. (Insurance follows around the car, not the driver.) Make sure you get an insurance and it’s not expired.
9. Watch out for these three things when driving on the autoroute.
First, watch out extremely fast cars that are going above 180 km/h. These are usually fancy German cars, and you see quite a few of them. Second, watch out for extremely slow cars below 60 km/h. These are mostly old, overloaded trucks or pickup trucks. And third, watch out for pedestrians walking across the autoroute. This is probably unheard of in the West, but I’ve seen it happen in Southern California with some Mexican migrants. The problem in Morocco is that there are not enough safe crossings over autoroutes, so many people in the rural area choose to just walk across the autoroute rather than go around several kilometers to use a overhead bridge or underpass.
10. Learn to tell the difference between “Get out of my way” and “You can go ahead” signals from other drivers.
In Morocco, drivers sometimes do a quick flash of high beams to tell you, “Go ahead, I will wait till you go first.” But other times, it could also mean “Move! Get out of my way!” Just as any cultural setting, this has to do with the context, of course. Make sure you understand the differences!
11. Use gestures to say sorry and to thank.
Remember to wave at other drivers to say sorry when you make a mistake or to thank them when they give you a break. This will REALLY help you go a long way in enjoying life here in Morocco. This is what I call relational driving. Very important in Morocco!
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