Driving in Mauritius

I have mastered driving in Mauritius. I just have to remember that the driver's seat is on the right side of the vehicle. Driving on the left side is no problem and I am now an expert in taking round-abouts. I definitely have developed bigger leg and arm muscles on the left side of my body from constanlty using the clutch and using the stick.
Here are some rules and tips about driving in Mauritius:
1. Get use to driving in circles before u get here because there are lots of round-abouts. Very often the streets are not well marked, so you may have to go around the roundabouts more than once until you get to the right branch off the round-about.
2. Driving on the left side is a breeze since you can drive on the right side of the road too. There are always cars coming right at you.
3. Motorcyles and bicycles go on your left, on your right, in front, behind, in between vehicles; so, watch out for them because you never know where one will appear. There are no rules for motorcyles and bicycles.
4. Lights for motorcyles and bicycles are not necessary and it seems to be a rule that you should wear dark clothes while riding bikes, which means you need to have night-vision googles to drive at night
5. Most roads are so tight with no sidewalk, meaning people just walk on the road with dark clothes. And do not run them over because you will be found guilty
6. If you need to get out of an intersection, put your right hand out the window and wave until someone stops. You need to make sure your vehicle is at least 5 feet into the intersection first.
7. Honk when you need to get thru, honk if you're giving way to another vehicle, honk if your mad at someone's driving, honk if you just want to get someone's attention.
8. If there are 2 inches on each side of your vehicle to get thru traffic, you should be able to just fly thru. Just remember that pedestrians are not scared of vehicles.
9. Practice driving in LA rush hour and you should have no problem here. Who said there were poor people in Mauritius? Cars here, cars there, cars everwhere!
10. If ever stopped by police for speeding, not having your seatbelt, or for any other reasons, just remember that money talks.
If you can drive in Mauritius, you can drive in the US without any problems whatsoever. I think all teenagers should come to Mauritius for a month to practice driving before they get their license.
- Caroline