The past few months I’ve been taking note on which kind of cars should you avoid when on the road. There are apparently (apart from some obvious ones) a certain type of cars that the drivers usually drive recklessly and without shame. Please note that this is just what I observe, if you see your car on the list doesn’t mean that I automatically say you drive like roosters, but just that your car is usually driven by those kind of people.

Okay enough with introduction, here is the list with no particular order:

• Public transports (Angkot, KWK, Kopaja, Metro Mini, Transjakarta, anything really) – They drive shamelessly, really do not follow any traffic rules and laws or whatsoever, stops wherever they like it (even on the middle of the road), and the police never do anything about it.

• Motorcycles – Okay these are not really cars, but I’m sorry to say this: most bikers are not really human beings. They run through red lights, drive on the wrong side of the road, cuts you everytime, always want to be ahead even though there’s no room, and very impatient.. as in if there’s even the slightest delay (e.g. somebody gets out of the driveway) they honk and wants to drive through you (I mean literally).
• Vans or anything without a “nose” (yes, that includes Toyota Alphard and Suzuki APV or pickup trucks) – Just like angkot, they’re like jackrabbits and always changes lanes abruptly. While thinking that they’re the only ones on the road.
• Toyota Fortuner – Feel like they’re the biggest cars on the road so people would be afraid of them. So they drive like roosters.
• Honda CRV – I’m not sure about the possible reason behind this one..but they do drive like roosters.
• Any plat merah – Yes..they feel like they have the power for everything. Even though they’re really just couriers in the government.
• Older German saloons – I’m talking about 2001 or older BMWs or Mercs. Any series. I think it’s because mostly they’re bought second by people who has just got enough money and want to look cool. Cool…yeah, right. You’re not cool when you open up your window, have a puff, maybe loud music, then drive through red lights. Or crash into someone.
• Taxicabs – This is probably nothing new to Jakarta drivers. But amazingly I’ve seen some very courteous taxi drivers. Bravo to them.
• Bajajs – Well, what more can you say?
• City cars (the likes of Atoz, Karimun, Ceria) – Probably since they’re really tiny they all think they can fit in and no one will be bothered. Except they don’t realize that they have made 10 cars behind them braking abruptly because they just “squeezed” in to the lane.