I rarely drive, since I live in Manhattan.  So when I do get into a car, the absurd danger of this activity shifts fully into focus for a few minutes.  Like, seriously, how do we let humans do this?  Roughly thirty-five thousand people die a year on our roads, and we casually accept it as fate.  (A few thousand died in September of 2001 and we rearranged an entire industry and world order because of it.)  

Driving in the U.S. is as safe as a Fisher Price plastic play kitchen compared to driving in Sicily.  Frankly, I’m just grateful to be alive. 

Today, Boxing Day, we hoped into the car and headed to The Valley of the Temples, located near Agrigento.  It’s Sicily main antiquity attraction.  Seven Greek temples from the 4th, 5th, and 6th century BC are clustered together, which is mighty convenient.  One ticket lets you see all of them. UNESCO turned it into a world heritage site in the 90s.   

Just getting out of the garage in Taormina proved exhilarating.  Since the center of town is off-limits to cars, three multistory garages offer long and short term parking.  The cork screw ramps connecting levels twist super tight.  The car I rented isn’t big, but these turns are made for smaller cars still.  I scraped the side on the way down.  Ah well.  It’s a rental and I took out the full insurance.

We drove about two hours from Taormina, mostly in fear for our lives while also admiring the stunning scenery.  The roads have speed limits, but they serve as mere suggestions few heed.  I drove about 120km/hr and routinely got blown by as if standing still.  I find it surprising how aggressive many drivers act.  I drive best when doing it very dispassionately.  These people get into it.  Like, really get into it. 

People assume because I drive in Manhattan, I must be used to such crazed vehicular environments.  But in Manhattan we rarely drive faster than 40 M.P.H.  You have time to react.  An accident at those speeds is inconvenient, but you’ll probably walk away.  An accident where I’m going 70 and someone else is going 100, well, it’s likely everyone dies.     

I hypothesized traffic deaths in Italy must be high due to the insanity unfolding around me.  I had just dodged someone who flew by me.  A quick Google search yielded the answer, none of which is surprising or good.  Italy has nearly the highest rate of accidents that cause injury; Germany was first.  When it comes to death, Italy “wins,” though Germany is a close second.  Italy has the most amount of fatal traffic accidents in the E.U.  Pedestrians fare poorly here, as well.  Italy takes the top or second spot in number of pedestrians killed depending on the year (I wouldn’t recommend biking through the country, either).  By an order of magnitude, the people having these accidents are men.  Men, between the ages of 29 and 49.  We’re a lethal lot. 

My car always knew the speed limit.  It displayed the number on the dash, which I found helpful even if it’s mostly fictional.  I think the speed limit signs had some type of NFC device my car picked up as it passed. Or maybe cameras?  Even in construction sites, temporary signs (fitted with a small orange box) would alter the speed limit displayed.    

The cool tech didn’t end there.  Many of the roads are masterfully built.  Just picture perfect — wide, smooth, open, with few twists and turns.  It’s like a people in love with their fast cars got permission to design a highway system for those fast cars.  Probably not wise given the sobering statistics.  The modern tunnels bore through mountains and under towns, making sure nothing interrupted the autostrada’s fast flow.

Unfortunately, corruption keeps many roads from being completed in some rural areas.  Still, Sicily is trying to shed its corrupt, Mafioso past and bring commerce and tourists into its borders.  A new highway system is a start.  I got a little envious, actually.  Our infrastructure needs desperate updating.  I’ve never driven through a tunnel that didn’t leak.  Or smell like gas.  Or look haggard.  Or have a smooth road bed.  

Odd what you find in the corners of the world.