All Entries Tagged With: "driving"

Israel is perfectly safe - just watch out for those mad Israeli drivers!

Yes, Israel is safe to visit, despite what you might have seen on the BBC or CNN. Israel has often been portrayed as a constant battle-zone, but head out to Tel Aviv on a sunny, Friday afternoon and you might just be forgiven for thinking you’ve arrived in paradise…

The US State Department however, has found a certain aspect of Israeli life to be a little troublesome. Troublesome enough for it to get a warning for all US citizens traveling to Israel. And what might be alarming them so much? Oh yes, that nasty ol’ Israeli driver, the bane of many a tourist or Anglo immigrant to Israel. Yes, yes, we do love the drivers here in Israel. As do the US State Department:

Aggressive driving is a serious problem and many drivers fail to maintain safe following distances or signal before changing lanes or making turns.

The Israeli driver tends to make sudden stops in the middle of the street without any forewarning, particularly in the right-hand lane. Drivers must exercise significant caution on Israel’s roads, especially in light of the high number of traffic accidents that result in injury and the very congested streets, specifically in urban areas.

What?? That’s it? You lot over at the US State Dept better mosey on over to this post if you want to get a real gist of just what the heck driving in Israel is really like.

Our tip for driving glory in the Holy Land: learn to hate the indicator lever. Hate it with a passion and you will do well.

Bar Refaeli and Sandi Bar back on the streets?

One of the nicest things about driving in Israel (and let’s face it, it’s not the easiest of experiences), used to be the drive through Tel Aviv on the main Ayalon freeway. Apart from giving you a real good perspective of just how modern Israel has become, what with all those huge, new buildings springing up everywhere, it also gave us lads some perspiration inspiration with rather huge (building-size), advertising posters full of Israel’s most beautiful women.

Who can forget Sandi Bar’s advert (see right) for a local chocolate pudding favourite (Milky), or Hila Nachshon’s brief flirt with fame on the very same billboard for the very same milky chocolate pudding. And, of course, Bar Refaeli, who has appeared on some of the biggest billboards Israel’s Ayalon freeway has to offer! And ladies, let’s not pretend there wasn’t anything distracting you either…please see below for proof!

The good times came to an end around 18 months ago as the Israeli government decided that the ads were endangering drivers as they somehow got distracted, and all ads along the freeway were subsequently banned.

However, that decision was reversed this week as the government declared that ads can be placed on existing buildings only (but not residential buildings) and not on agricultural land. And no more flashing, moving and changing ads and plasma screens.

So yes, very soon Bar and Sandi and a whole horde of beautiful young Israelis will once again be staring down at us suggestively as we drive through Tel Aviv. We shall have to document their return, of course.

Please note: not every Israeli girl with the name Bar is a hot, young model. Almost, but not quite all.

Driving in Israel - so you want to park?

Driving in Israel is one of our pet topics, a much loved and talked about subject by a whole army of seasoned anglos and immigrants and tourists in the Holy Land! Check out our guide to driving in Israel, as well as a bit of a reality check for driving on the roads in the Holy Land.

Once you’ve decided to go for it and hire/rent that car, be pleased with yourself. And once you’ve had a little spin on the roads of Tel Aviv or wherever and you’re still in one piece, congratulate yourself. But it’s only when you’ve found a parking space in the heart of Tel Aviv that you can consider yourself a real player.  

Parking in most towns and cities is usually not so tricky, but in Tel Aviv it’s a war. In fact, according to a recent report some 450,000 vehicles are fighting daily over 278,000 parking spaces. So yes, be on the ball for that spot just about to open up, think positive and sharpen up your reversing skills!

The lack of parking spots results in some 3000 parking tickets a day, the majority of which get dished out between 5pm - 7 pm in central Tel Aviv. And those tickets aren’t usually for Tel Aviv citizens; some 83% of the daily tickets are given to non-Tel Aviv residents. The only bright spot on the horizon - some 175,000 tickets are rescinded every year.

Driving (and parking) in Israel - your real Holy Land challenge!