Driving in Bali

I just came across a new plan by the Bali police to get motorcycle drivers to use their headlights both during the day and the night. They are doing this in hopes of raising the safety consciousness of the driving population. In addition to the use of lights, the police are also planning on stressing the use of helmets, rear-view mirrors, and driving in the left lane.

I hope that this plan succeeds, but I have this feeling that it's going to be a long haul for the police when you consider that many drivers in Bali do not use lights even at night (for fear of depleating their battery).

Driving on the left lane? People in Bali driving on whatever side of the road is most convienent for them. So you often have cars or motorcycles coming at you from both the left and the right at the same time.

Mirrors. People rarely have mirrors on the bikes, but they do know what's going on behind them because they often drive forward while looking backwards at friends that they have just passed.

Helmets. If the police are around, people will throw a helmet on, or if they don't have one, they will pull off the road and wait for the police to go away, or just turn around and look for a road without a police presence.

What about driving licenses? How many drivers don't have licenses? How many kids (and I mean small kids)drive around regularly with the permission of their parents.

Well, good luck on the driving reform. If it succeeds, I may actually start driving again in Bali.