Reality Driving Game

Every day, I drive downtown, passing through a popular (working class) neighborhood. The street is busy with vehicles of all types; cars, trucks, buses, vans, mopeds, bicycles, pedestrians of all ages, staggering old men and women in jellabas, young children darting out between cars, straggly dogs, energetic cats, and occasional flocks of goats and sheep wandering across the lane. It's a bit like a real-live video game, except that I am trying to avoid hitting them. It's not easy.

For one thing, mopeds and cyclists insist on turning corners without stopping or looking for traffic. They swing into the street without slowing down.

Autos are doubled parked. Delivery trucks block the lane. Drivers open their doors suddenly. Someone is trying to fix a flat tire by the road, lying there in a dangerous place.

Pedestrians cross corners non-stop also without looking around. They may as well be blind, the way they walk.
Push-cart vendors amble up and down the hill, shouting out their wares or their business, "elbAid! (Eggs)", "Hoot! (fish)"elbiyeA! (used items to buy or sell)", "javil! (bleach)", They meander, tempting drivers into colliding.

Animals are a little better. The dogs and cats run for their lives because if they don't, there are enough flattened canine and feline corpses around town to warn them. They are on their own.

Goats and sheep belong to shepherds so drivers are careful not to hit them. You might end up with a furious owner demanding tons of money to replace an animal.

Sometimes I think, "this would make a real cool video game... if it wasn't already for real!"