Well ... remember when they enforced seat belts? ... The majority of the people that i know who didnt use the seat belt started using it afterwards. But before enforcement, the government should fix the road markers and lanes coz that is so OUTRAGEOUS that they can afford AUDI police cars but not streets with efin lanes? That is simply dumb!

I was thinking that a lot of driving problems might be solved if they painted lane markers on the *%&$(% roads! Outside of West Amman, they're faded at best. Than maybe - just maybe - people wouldn't make 6 lanes of traffic where only 3 should be, and then - in some cases - people might actually not creep up around you just for the sake of getting ahead?

I think I have a simple and precise explanation or well not really more like an approach to clarification- I've lived in the UK forever and most people I engage with are pretty civilised drivers. Try driving civilised in Jordan you WILL get into either of the following: an accident, a near death experience, get cussed at. and police/traffic officers do absolute ZILCH about it. How about it? It's either you get with the system or crash as an outsider.

Frankly, I don't want to depress you guys but I feel that we are few people talking only to each other. I go to Jordan and drive first well, then after a while, I feel that my driving start to change (to the worse sure) mainly on the roundabouts where it is no use if you keep waiting for priority to enter, then yo never pass. So it is a cultural thing embeded in the people, which need a cultural change with media campaign, education and punishments/rewards.

Driving in Jordan is like a giant game of bumper cars crossed with Russian Roulette!!

My observation as a naturalized Jordanian (American) is that people in Jordan really ARE very caring and hospitable... if they are engaged with you personally. If you make eye contact, if you approach someone for help, if you are a guest in someone's home, you will be treated quite well.

BUT in anonymous (public or traffic) situations, Jordanians are completely oblivious to how people around them might feel. Complete disregard for others is the norm - every man and woman feels that they are an island unto themselves.

Now that is just an observation. I might be wrong on the source of the problem. But if I am correct, then the problem runs deep - Jordanians need to learn to be considerate of other people in order to solve this problem. That's a tall order. (Not to mention being considerate of their country - I do get tired of watching people throw trash out of their car windows into the street, assuming someone else will clean up for them.)

1. I think socially, we're a power frenzy nation. Laws, norms, standards...etc. are accepted to be broken by the powerful. For instance, a strong Jordanian woman (I mean one which induces caution from others) would do what is labelled as "non Kosher" for other women. Another example, a friend has 2 kids, one is "3assabi" meaning is hot tempered. The 3assabi kid more or less gets away with double the wrong doings compared with the "normal" kid whereby the parent should have a set of rules applies to all kids regardless of personality traits associated with power. This same kid will grow up thinking he/she can get away with anything on the premise of precedence.
2. We don't know what a system is. Deprived of a Jordanian Superhero in childhood maybe, nevertheless, we grow up looking for Superheros to fix stuff, to save us, to BRING JUSTICE. Ask a Jo Shmo about politics and u'll start hearing names, rarely and I mean 1 in 100k would u hear the word system, institution, let alone law or constitution. Now, if we still think education can be brought forward or backward by a single individual be it a minister or otherwise, if we were taught Pyramids were built by a single Pharaoh, and are indoctrinated that some religious figure will come and free Palestine how on earth would we respect collective concepts like law, institutionaliz ation, or system?
3. Nabateans of Petra were the first to have traffic guidelines, ppl leaving Petra took their right, opposite to the right hand side taken by ppl entering. There's a carved statue (modern day traffic sign) showing this in the Siq. My point is, while we had Nabatean, Greek, Roman and other Muslim laws, regulation, and collective systems heritage, none of it was taught. So none of it can be assumed to be associated as a "Jordanian" behavior. Hence, we grow up with no definition of how we should act as a definition of who we are. So ur left to decide alone whether this whole thing called a law is something u'd want to adopt as defining to ur identity as a person. Thus, we literally have a power struggle also known as a jungle whereby the strong does whatever; the only counter reaction drawn by something stronger that is a police officer while the weak is cautious (point 1).
4. What is not rejected is automatically accepted, philosophy of precedence in law. A friend of mine was a traffic signal, some mother with her kids threw her Pepsi can from the window off to the st. My friend left her car, picked up the can and knocked on her window. She told her politely she believes the can must have "fell off" / Weg3at menha. I don't think that woman or her children ever littered in public at least. The point is, we as a society accept and tolerate this behavior by not rejecting it giving every single one of those law breakers a premise of precedence to repeat as long as police officer isn't there which leads me to the fifth and final point.
5. Policies and procedures are nonexistent in our traffic or any other police/law enforcement. If the traffic officer still comes up with questions like where are you from? why are you going there? how many cylinders is this car? then we have living proof there are no policies and procedures in place. At least, not strictly implemented which leaves matters to the individual officer to decide, not according to "the book" but to his/her (very proud of female traffic officers btw) set of values / logic. Regardless if the police officer was a PHD in law or a high school drop out, the point remains that the law is marginalized here which mirrors in people breaking the law on the idea that the police officer would "let it pass in 2 words" / bemaregha be kelemtain. A case not only in traffic law or obtaining the driving license to start with; actually in almost everything to do with law in various forms with varying extents in Jordan.
I guess the solutions are obvious but we still look for Superman to come and do them..