trucks

Yamoussoukro is part of the heavily trafficked truck routes that come down from Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso to Abidjan. In Côte d'Ivoire, most of the trucking routes are two lane roads except for a nice patch of 4 lane highway that extends from Abidjan to about an hour north. The roads are what most people in the "developed" world would describe as country roads: there is often no shoulder, no passing lanes, road maintenance often consists of filling potholes w/ rocks and dirt, and in this area tall grasses line both sides of the road, making it difficult to see around bends and for pedestrians to get out of the way. Overloaded trucks, cars, motos, and people all share the road.

Needless to say, there are lots of accidents. It's not uncommon to see the huge trucks flipped over. In Yamoussoukro, right down the street from my office, a gas tanker tipped over. Locals came and filled up their jerry cans and eventually they were able to push the tanker upright and off the street where it stayed for months while they waited for insurance to do something. Driving between cities is terrifying and exciting for me. Some of my colleagues can sleep through these drives (or even work on their laptops which I cannot fathom - I'd vomit) but I find myself unable to take my eyes off the road. One wonderful distraction from worrying about becoming another traffic accident statistic, is checking out the truck decorations:Pass on the left, as fast as a stallion:
This one says La Santé Avant Tout, health before everything... ironic.
Many have to do with God: Merci Dieu, Grâce à Dieu. People here are quite religious but I think it also has something to do with how dangerous their job is. Today I saw one that said Merci Maman. I realize this one is blurry, but you should be able to make out Bob Marley.