The “everything is awesome and new and exciting feeling” of being here has largely worn off and I have started to notice more things beneath the surface in Jordan. I feel just as safe as I did when I wrote “‘but isn’t it dangerous?!” (Read Post), but I have started to realize that, ironically, law enforcement is a problem in Jordan. Let’s explore this.
Amman (and now I can include As-Salt and ‘Ajloun) is safe in the sense that I feel comfortable walking around the city looking and acting like a tourist without fear of harassment or becoming the victim of a crime; I can get lost (and I have gotten lost) at night and not be on edge while I make my way to charted territory; and if I need assistance, police are readily available on the street and have a friendly disposition.
At the same time, though, police seem to be more of a deterrent and an upon-request resource than a monitor and enforcer.
During one of our tours of the city, we were driving through a dense urban area that resembles a downtown (Thought it wasn’t downtown Amman) and our vehicle had to come to a complete stop in the middle of a busy street, as did the long line of cars behind us. This was a 2-lane road, but due to people parallel-parking along the sidewalk, it was effectively a one-lane road. A man in front of us saw it fit to stop his vehicle on the one-lane road, park it, exit it, and go conduct business at the bank across the street. Meanwhile, there was no way for traffic to flow. A police officer approached the vehicle and inspected it, then proceeded to try to find the owner. After searching the local businesses, the officer entered the bank and found the owner of the vehicle, he brought him outside and instructed him to move his vehicle from the road. BUT, he just waved the man off. illegal parking and blocking the flow of traffic are both ticketable offenses in Amman, but no citation was issued, no fines levied. Our tour guide explained that “while laws and rules are important, this shows that in Jordan humanity is also important. This is why the officer did not give him a ticket.” I couldn’t wrap my head around that. Humanity’s important, but there’s nothing inhumane about holding someone responsible for violation of a clearly written law. This was just one example of vehicular imprudence, but one can find countless every day. A colleague shared this comedic video about “Driving Rules in Amman,” and while it is funny, it actually shows how a lot of drivers seem to think here: See Video. Failure to yield, illegal parking, driving against the flow of traffic, and neglect of traffic lights; all punishable, but all go unpunished. The Amman PD has a unit dedicated specifically to traffic matters, but I still wonder what its actual function is.
The Econ. major in me can’t help but think how much time is wasted in an average Jordanian’s day because of traffic, the likely high sums of money put into defensive expenditures (hospital costs, auto repair, property restoration, and the like) after accidents (which are quite frequent), and the detriment to business activity caused by vehicular congestion and lack of proper parking spaces in many parts of the city.
Another frequent experience highlights law enforcement shortfalls at the institutional level instead of the practical. On an average day, I take at least 2 taxis, so about 10-13 different taxis every week. Of these, at least 5 are vehicles without functioning seat belts and/or deployed airbags, which means the vehicle has been legally totaled. What? Initially, I would get (internally) angry at the driver for being so irresponsible as to take other people’s lives into his hands while driving a car without safety devices. But as it happened more and more, I thought: these drivers don’t own these vehicles; they simply operate them; the company is at fault here. How are taxi companies not regularly inspected and audited by the government, and if they are, why are totaled vehicles still on the road? I don’t have an official figure, but the number of taxis on Amman’s streets is high. Cars are expensive and the city is very large (pop: ~1 Million), so locals and tourists alike depend heavily on taxis for transportation. With an industry this important, affecting so many people, I would think the government would have a strong interest in ensuring it functions safely and effectively.
Waste and trash are also a rampant problem in Amman as well as the countryside, and while I believe it could fit into this post about lax law enforcement because that’s half the problem, I want to do a broader post about the environment down the road.
Now, I’m curious, how is the country kept safe and orderly if there isn’t a culture of abiding by written rules. I look forward to discussing with my colleagues, and maybe another friendly taxi driver (hopefully he has a car with airbags).