Tag: driving

Cyprus: Is Learning to Drive Hard? (with Help from Cypriot Smurf)

I often see the same question: is it hard to learn how to drive in Cyprus, since the steering wheel is on the other side? I actually wrote about driving in Cyprus a few years ago — Cyprus: Driving. But in that post, I went straight into the details.

If you already have driving experience anywhere else, you can just start driving without any help. There are limits on how long you can drive with a national license (varies by country). And if you’re just exchanging your license — it’s just a matter of going and replacing it. But to get a license “from scratch,” you need to take lessons with an instructor. Or if you want to improve your practical driving skills — that can also be helpful.

I took a few lessons with an instructor, since Belarusians can’t simply exchange their licenses. For us, the process is as if we have no license at all (even if you’ve been driving for 20 years). The most useful thing I got out of those lessons was: just relax, and everything will be fine. Also, the experience of driving with a Cypriot instructor explains a lot about the island — the local driving style and even the mentality.

Read more

22 signs that you are a Cypriot driver

Let’s set aside the serious topics for now and talk about something even more serious—have you mastered driving in Cyprus or not?

You’ve probably become a full-fledged Cypriot driver if the following statements apply to you.

  1. You never use your indicator—unless you accidentally hit the lever.
  2. The “Stop” sign is just a variation of a “Yield” sign to you.
  3. You’re convinced the stop line at intersections is supposed to be behind your car.
  4. You’re convinced that you’ve done ‘everything possible’ to give way to the car on the main road if you pull out directly in front of it, blocking at least half of the lane, but most importantly — you STOPPED to let it pass (even though it’s now impossible for anyone to get through because of you).
  5. You never slow down or check for other vehicles when entering a main road.
  6. When turning right from a side road, you calmly pull out into the center, blocking the way for everyone coming from the right (remember — it’s LEFT-HAND driving, like in the UK). And those who had to stop because of you DON’T GET ANNOYED!
  7. You know for sure that a red traffic light means “you can go if you really need to.” Even if the police are nearby.
  8. You calmly drive through a red pedestrian light (not at an intersection, but specifically for pedestrian crossings) if the pedestrian has already crossed or there’s no one at all. Just like the previous situation — even if the police are nearby.
  9. You park your car in any available space, whether it’s a street corner, a sidewalk, the opposite lane, or two spaces at once — after all, your car just looks better taking up both spots.
  10. You feel entirely entitled to stop right in the middle of the road if you spot a friend driving toward you. Of course, you’ll chat through the open windows for a good 5-10 minutes. The cars behind you? Well, meeting a friend is far more important!
  11. Double solid line? What’s that? You can’t cross it? Oh, come on! See, even the police officer stopped to let me through!
  12. You’re sure that moving at 5 cm per second at an intersection doesn’t count as actual movement, and therefore allows you to turn even on a red light.
  13. You can comfortably block someone else’s car without leaving your phone number. And if someone blocks your car, you would never bother calling the large number displayed under their windshield.
  14. You never pay at a paid parking spot using a parking meter.
  15. You consider it normal to leave your car parked all day during summer with the windows open for ventilation. Sometimes, you even leave the keys in the ignition, just in case your car might block someone from exiting.
  16. If you need to get out of your car, you abruptly swing open the door without checking the mirrors to see if someone is coming from behind.
  17. In heavy rain on the highway, you turn on your hazard lights, drastically reduce your speed, or even stop completely by the side of the road.
  18. You don’t care about scratches and dents on your car. And if you happened to bump or scratch someone else’s car? Well, even less so!
  19. You have a perfect sense of timing and confidently maintain the necessary 0.1-second interval before honking at the car in front of you, signaling that the light turned green 0.1 seconds ago.
  20. You know that if you honk long enough at cars stuck in traffic or behind an obstacle, either the obstacle will magically vanish, or the cars in front will disappear into thin air.
  21. You always talk on the phone while driving. Always! Without it, the car just doesn’t run as smoothly.
  22. If you ever get the feeling that you might be doing something wrong (whether while driving or parking), simply turning on your hazard lights instantly absolves you of all responsibility.

I’m sure there’s more to add… I’ll keep working on it myself, or maybe I’ll update it with suggestions from the comments.

Cyprus: Driving

I thought for a while about what other topic regarding Cyprus might be interesting. Then I realized that for a Russian person, the answer is quite obvious: driving.

So, let’s talk about what makes the driving experience different. By the time I moved to the sunny island, I already had over ten years of driving experience with a Belarusian driver’s license.

Is it difficult to get used to driving with a right-hand drive?

As it turns out, it’s still a surprise to many that in Cyprus, the steering wheel is “on the wrong side,” meaning it’s not like the rest of Europe. But then you realize—it’s a former British colony, so what’s there to be surprised about?

Read more