As I mentioned in another thread I’ve just got back from Jamaica and thought you’d like to know about the driving and cars/bikes. No pics as my E36 M3ty phone died. So, let’s get to the point. It’s awesome. I can’t understand why Jamaica hasn’t turned out a top tarmac rally driver, the roads are awesome fun. Completely insane, dangerous, always changing and always massive fun to drive.
First our steed. A new Honda City rental. When I heard Honda City my mind obviously leapt to:
Unfortunately what we got was
Basically 1,100kg of painfully boring groan mobile, but at least it fit 5 of us in comfort. It’s got a 2,600mm wheel base and lots of room inside. It would be a great fun car with the addition of an engine, a trans, some wheels, tires, brakes and some suspension. Other than that some seats and decent steering wheel wouldn’t go amiss and I certainly wouldn’t complain about some added ergonomic features like an arm rest. On the plus side the AC was excellent…at night….or after keeping the engine above 2.500rpm for at least 10 mins. It proudly proclaimed iVTEC on the back. I assume the 'i' stands for 'ineffectual' as the engine appeared to be a variable nloise, constant (lack of) power unit. OK that's unfair as it only had a 1.3L 63kw engine so I should expect much. IT was essential to drop the trans from D to S to accelerate or you would go nowhere as opposed to nowhere slowly. All in all a perfectly acceptable blah mobile but is further proof Honda is losing the plot WRT to building small cheap but FUN economobiles. One last thing, this may be limited to the cars I own (have owned) but everything I’m familiar with has the indicator stalk on the left, this was on the right which as far as I’m concerned should be against the Geneva convention. The fact it was right and drive and they drive on the left is of zero consequence being an Ex Pat Brit who grew up driving on the correct side and is used to swapping back and forth between sides and countries including RHD here in America and on the European continent and driving LHD in the UK. No of it is an issue.
The roads are tiny and in many cases abysmal. Abysmal even by SE Michigan standards which are embarrassingly poor. Just about all the roads are two lanes, including the major roads between the big towns. The A2 which is the main East West rout along the south of the Island from Kingston to Negril. Because of this the average speed is low. Low like I don’t think I ever got above 80kph even when going flat out to overtake and am foot to the floor. People seem to have a set speed. Some literally drive everywhere at 30kph, in town and out of town no matter what. Others will fly along at a mind boggling 70kph!!. This means that there is a lot of overtaking. Before we talk overtaking let’s talk about the use of the horn. I never saw anyone get upset about the use of the horn. The following are the different meanings of horn use I surmised from my time:
I’m going to pass
I am passing
I’ve passed you, thank you
I’ve passed you and I’m going to carry on and pass four other people
Look out there’s a person, dog, goat, cow, police ahead
I’m going to pull out in front of you
I’ve pulled out in front of you
I’m going to turn across in front of you
I’m starting and going to pull out
I’m about to stop
Hey!, stop and let me sell you something
She’s hot
Hi!
Buy!
Overtaking. Wow, people just pass, anywhere, anytime with zero regard for anything. Passing on a blind curve when you have maybe two hamsters on coffee worth of power at your disposal? No problem! If someone else comes they just pull in and the person being passed slows up and moves over. It seems perfectly acceptable with no bad feelings.
The roads though are awesome fun. Endless corners of various durations and radius, on camber, off camber, varied camber. I’ve never driven the tail of the dragon, but this is what it must be like only the whole island. The biggest issue is not the other traffic as passing and being passed is fair game. The issue is you absolutely have to drive within your sight lines stopping distance. You absolutely will have to stop or slow down to a couple of km/h several times on even the shortest trip. You might find a pot hole the full width of your lane and literally 20-30 cm deep. Or you might find someone changing a flat tire, not a few hundred meters past the corner at the side of the road, but literally sat in the middle of the road, just around the corner half under the car on a scissor jack. I also saw people doing major repairs under cars in villages and towns in the road legs out in the middle of the road, no one spotting for them, no cone or tool box to protect them, just lying there! My favorite was some unofficial road work. We went one way in the morning and there were a bunch of guys who had closed one side of the road with some branches and were hand mixing concrete in a bucket. on the way back 5 hours later they had filled all the potholes and were letting it dry while holding out tins for donations from the locals who drive the road every day. Genius.
Motorbikes are everywhere, given the insanely low wages and standard of living I was surprised that most of them looked pretty new. I assume they must be some kind of Chinese Honda knock off . ATGATT seems to mean shorts, cut of T shirt and flip flops. Carrying your girlfriend it seems equally acceptable for her to ride pillion or due to her short skirt side saddle on the tank with one arm behind her and the other over her legs/waist. I think my favorite bike sitting was coming down a mountain and seeing about 6 or 7 guys on bikes racing up the hill, round corners while all pulling wheelies. These guys have insane control and zero fear or imagination. I never saw a single accident with either bikes or cars which is amazing considering what I saw and the insurance issues which brings us to renting the car.
Never, never, I mean never ever use Europcar . I made that mistake once in England. We got there, declined their insurance saying I would use my credit card. OK, no issue. Until a week later when we returned the car and were charged for insurance. We pointed out that we had declined it to the person behind the counter and they never told us there was an issue. We were told tough, you needed to show proof of insurance in writing before we took the car. They never told us that at the counter. Still no give. We handed the situation over to our credit card company and Europcar said the same thing to them. In the end the CC told them to pound sand and took the money back anyway, or at least they refunded the insurance part to us. So this time we didn’t’ want to use Europcar, but they had the best rates. Once burnt twice shy so I checked without main credit card company. They don’t cover Jamaica so we used another card (Costco City Visa) and they said Jamaica is fine. They sent a note that said ‘worldwide coverage’ our names, card # etc. I called back as double checked that worldwide meant Jamaica, yes it does. We get to the counter and show the proof. They say it’s not good enough as it says Worldwide not specifically Jamaica. They wouldn’t let us use their phone and in the airport to call the credit card company and our cell coverage was expensive and E36 M3ty. We lost the credit card company twice on my wifes cell and in the end gave up. We told Europcar we didn’t’ want the rental and went next door to Enterprise and they took the same letter that Europcar would accept. But now Europcar are trying to charge us even though they wouldn’t work with us. Again, the credit card company is saying no problem, it’s not your fault and are taking care of it. Moral, Europcar can suck dirty donkey genetalia and won’t get my business again.
Brining my ramblings back to cars again. Most cars are Honda or Toyota products, mainly smaller sedans and hatches from the last 20 years. I haven’t seen so many 90’s era Honda Integra’s in forever, they are very common. Obviously not Type R’s, but mainly 2 not 4 door variety. I saw a few old Celica’s too. Lot’s and lots of newer Toyota VOXY’s (Noah) as taxis and mini cabs, ugly, but they seem to be very practical. Also lot's of those awful Dihatsuand Suzuki microvans which people on here love, but having driven them in the past know there is not one single redeeming quality about them. With the massive inequity there were very few high end cars, but I saw a smattering of new Range Rovers, a new C63 AMG some new M cars etc. Basically any of those cars represents multiple lifetimes earnings for the average worker (avg. is less than $200USD take home per week with close to US prices) I did see a Euro Mk III Escort, an old 80’s Toyota Crown and lots of 80’s Isuzu Troppers and same era Land Cruisers and a few old old Land Rovers. The general style seems to tend towards a cross between rally and turn of the century F&F. Lots of mud flaps, a few spot lights, lots of ‘sponsor’ brand stickers, big tail pipes, wings, graphics and clashing contrasting color trim and wipers. I guess most new cars are Japanese spec being RHD and in kmh. Many newer cars have what look like original small stickers covered with Japanese writing.
The Toyota VOXY, ugly, but not without charm.
