What Is It Like to Drive in Haiti?

Okay, I admit it. I don't know what it's like to drive in Haiti. I've never done it. However, I have been a passenger plenty of times, and that is more than enough for me to be glad that my husband is my chauffer. Traffic here is pure chaos, and the roads aren't well maintained. Here are some of my experiences on the road in Jacmel:

The Roads

Most people here either drive a motorcycle or a vehicle with a significant amount of ground clearance. Once in a while, I see someone driving a regular sedan, and I can't help but wonder how they fare on some Haitian roads.

The main road through town, Road 41, is paved in most places. However, it is full of potholes. Even worse, it doesn't have a good drainage system. Back in April, my husband and I attended the Memorial of Jesus Christ's Death at the local Kingdom Hall. During the short program, it started to rain cats and dogs. By the time we left, it was dark out, and roads were practically invisible because they had so much water on them. We slogged through the river-like road and, thankfully, no potholes tried to eat us. However, I'm sure someone got hurt that night. A motorcyclist or pedestrian could have easily tumbled into a hole.

Many of the other roads in town are not paved. Some of them don't even look like roads. When I visited Haiti in 2019, my husband (who was my fiancé back then) took me to the home of a friend of his. When we pulled up to the house, I saw the ground in front of us and thought that surely we would have to back out of the street because there was no way for us to go forward. The mess of rocks of dirt in front of us was full of ruts and bumps and was in no way suitable (in my mind) for us to drive on. However, we did drive on it. We survived. Since then, I have learned that roads like that are common.

Occasionally, people take some dirt and fill in the potholes on main roads. However, that is not their official job. They place debris in the road to force cars to slow down, which gives the would-be do-gooders an opportunity to approach the cars and ask for money in exchange for their "service."

The Traffic

To drive safely in Haiti, you need three things: fast reflexes, a hyperawareness of your surroundings, and nerves of steel.

Most of the vehicles on the road are motorcycles, and I don't think I've seen a single person wearing a helmet in the four and a half months that I have been here. Motorcyclists do not hesitate to weave in and out of cars when there is a slow-down in traffic. They pass on the right with gleeful abandon, and they always expect cars to yield. Drivers in cars must be extremely careful to avoid hitting a reckless motorcyclist.

Jacmel isn't a huge town. It is estimated that there are about 40,000 people here in the city. However, traffic jams are still a regular thing. Just this morning, we got caught in the most chaotic mishmash of vehicles I have ever seen. Cars lined both sides of the road, and motorcycles were wedged into virtually every space between cars. Not only that, but the motorcycles were facing every which way. One car was sideways in the entanglement after the driver thought he could sneak out of the fray, but he ended up getting stuck. Some of the motorcycles could squeeze through the mess by driving on the sidewalks (Haiti doesn't really have sidewalks, but it's not exactly a shoulder on the road, either).

Another fun part of traffic in Haiti is still what people are carrying with them on motorcycles. I've seen chickens, construction materials, and more. I've also seen four people crammed on a motorcycle that barely fits two. I can't recall any other outstanding examples of "what can I bring with me on my motorcycle?" but I'm sure there are plenty.

Filling up the Tank

Most of the time, the local gas stations don't have any fuel to sell. Every time we drive by a gas station, we have to look to see if they are selling anything, particularly if our car is starting to run low. When a gas station gets a delivery, the fun starts. Cars have to wait in line for hours just to fill up. My husband's brother was kind enough to borrow our car and fill up its tank the last time we needed fuel. He sacrificed most of his day (five hours) just to do that.

When it has been a while since the gas stations got a delivery, men start to line up on the sides of the road, ready to sell gasoline out of a random selection of containers at their disposal. Of course, they care three or four times as much as the gas station. A lot of the local believe that they are in cahoots with the gas station and provide the station owner a cut of what they make from ripping people off. This practice is illegal, but that doesn't stop it from happening all the time.

The driving situation in Haiti makes me miss the smooth roads well-organized traffic flow back home. But at least now I get to enjoy an adventure every time I sit in a car.