¡Corre!

While I was in Ecuador recently, I noticed that cars don’t slow down for pedestrians. And it seems the red octagonal PARE sign is discretionary. So pedestrians there keep a sharp eye out and are ready to accelerate in an instant—without, however, looking like their life is in mortal danger. Outward nonchalance is to be maintained at all times. Just remember that if you get hit by a car in Quito, it’s your fault.

That said, I have to add that I found drivers in Quito very skilled. They prefer manual transmissions, yet they still use their brakes heavily. And unlike drivers in US cities, they tend to use their horns only as a warning (“Look out, I’m not stopping”), not as an angry gesture. In fact, with all the intense driving I encountered, I didn’t see one expression of pique, let alone rage. Drivers seem to intuit what other drivers are going to do. Maybe it was a special week, but I didn’t see one accident while I was there, or the remains of one. Hardly a day goes by in DC when I don’t see one or the other. (Quito has a population of near two million.)

While being shown around the old city center, I noticed something my new son-in-law, a native Quiteño, seems not to have. Maybe this type of traffic signal is peculiar to the Centro Historico, but in any case, I thought it was amusing.