I enjoy action thrillers. But when it comes to cinematic car chases, I suffer from acute thriller fatigue. Why am I bored by watching unrealistic, brain-numbing races in urban or rural traffic? Perhaps it’s because I live in Beirut. No ride down San Francisco’s Lombard Street or race along the Cote D’Azur holds half as much opportunity to observe risky and stupid — not to mention rude and reckless — traffic behavior as time spent at a Beirut intersection. I never know if first to scream, weep or laugh. I usually end my corner time just shaking my head and walking away laughing at the intensity of our human folly. The buses and taxis that comprise the totality of the country’s public transport system play a role in this urban traffic disaster. In Beirut, you find no privileged lanes for mass transit and no rules giving buses
