Moving around in Quebec

I broke out of my usual reads the other day and picked up a free copy of the local newspaper here. As it turns out, the opinion section held two articles that made me laugh quite a bit and entertained me as well. One of them concerned an Australian family who recently moved to Quebec and were having a hard time getting use to driving here. She felt out of the loop about a number of constantly broken laws and the lack of police presence about the subject. The article pointed out a lot of flaws Quebec drivers have, and made me realize, it isn't just driving that we enjoy being pushy about, it's also walking.

When it comes to driving, Quebecers often times turn a blind eye to the law. It is quite a common site to cut accross three lanes without the use of a signal. Anyone who's driven in major cities will tell you that one can encounter 'distance lines' which are lines painted on the highway that indicate the proper distance one should be of other cars on the road. Montreal lacks such lines, and drivers lack such knowledge. Following people really close to force them to change lanes is common sight, and common practice here. When the highways are blocked by traffic, people don't signal, wait and then merge into a lane, they simply cut and push their way through!

The speed limit is also something subjective over here. One can see both extremities. While on the one hand, it's common practice to talk on a cell phone and drive on the highway at 50km/h, and on the other, it's also common to be driving at 160km/h and high beam the guy in front to tell him to "GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!" People also enjoy forging their way up one-ways, and entering through exits. Anything is possible on Quebec roads! We're paving the way to the future...in blood!

The same practice can also be observed in how we decide to cross the road and walk around. Pedestrians cross roads when they want, and how they want. Cut across the whole intersection in a oblique line? Sure, why not! Most major city pedestrians seem to respect the whole pedestrian walk system, over here, nobody cares. People walk in the middle of the road if they feel like it. Parking lots turn into death traps for everyone, but nobody cares because everyone wants to be first to go.

It doesn't surprise me to see overpasses collapsing, the people who build them are the same people who drive on them.

Side note: Part of the leters to the paper had a guy bitching about learning the area codes when dialing numbes. His argument was that since he still gets connected, he shouldn't have to remember the numbers. How stupid is that? How hard is it to remember 3 extra numbers, not to mention those 3 fucking numbers will be the same to most, if not all the numbers this sad excuse for an intellect will have to remember. When I was on my way back from Ottawa, I listened to a station in the city that had the announcer pronounce this phrase: "I guess it's a good sign that we now have to dial the area code as it is a sign our city is growing and expanding!". Here in Quebec "Colisse de numero a marde!"