This is what happens when you rely too heavily on a GPS system.... he was fortunate there were two good people there to extricate him from a near lynching and save his life!
He is right about the road signs being unclear. I remember when I drove to Bet El (right near Ramallah) I was very confused by the road signs and by remnants of an old army checkpoint. In my situation, the soldiers at a checkpoint told me where I was going and that I should turn around. This guy was not so fortunate, but those road signs really need to be redone to avoid further situations....
Is that daddy GPS's fault ;) to get to adam (givat binyamin) from pisgat zev is very simple.. the way back is easy too..
ReplyDeleteDepends what you do at the traffic circle and from which direction you're coming.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the fact that people call Adam "Adam" while the government calls it "Geva Binyamin" can also be confusing.
I don't believe in GPS. A map is what I use.
I do not have a GPS. I use maps. But even maps are not always accurate. They are only as updated as the date on which they were printed. I have, on occasion, gotten lost using maps...roads change, checkpoints are moved, traffic circles are added, traffic is redirected, road works, signs are removed or changed, roads are renamed, etc...
ReplyDeleteNot to make fun, but the best way to find out the way from point A to point B is to ask someone. But since he was a man....
ReplyDeletethat's funny.... but there was no need to ask - he had already spent a couple thousand shekels buying a nice gps system.
ReplyDeletewhen i am in israel i never drive through the shtachim. (the only exceptions are on kvish ha-bik'ah to bet shean and to the dead sea.)
ReplyDeletetreppenwitz had a post recently about a taxi ride from beer sheva to efrat. it was a great post, but i disagreed with his anger that had difficulty finding a cabby willing to take him. why should cabbie navigate strange roads (alone on return trip) at night through hostile terriritory. it's not like there haven't been incidences of people making a wrong turn with tragic consequences
Lion of zion,
ReplyDeleteGetting to efrad is simple, just go down highway 60... though he should have taken a bus to kiryat arba and than the 160 to tzomat efrat..
Anoyn,
Not really, there are signs saying which way jerusalem is (via hizme) unless he was aiming for the atarot / talpiyot route that jameel uses.
ELCHONON:
ReplyDeletei think it was in the middle of the night, so the bus was not an option. or maybe he wanted to treat himself? i don't remember. you should read the post if you have not done so. it is very moving.
everything is "simple" if you've done it. israeli roads are not marked well and are not well lit at night. people have made fatal wrong turns during the day, so i don't blame the cabbies for refusing to make their first trip into the shtachim in the middle of the night.
also, the simplicity of the route has a bearning on fatal wrong turns, but not on being ambushed on the road itself. i have no idea how dangerous HW 60 is in this regard, but neither did the cabbies.
Not really, there are signs saying which way jerusalem is (via hizme) unless he was aiming for the atarot / talpiyot route that jameel uses.
ReplyDeleteReally- it can be confusing; not for me, who does it daily, but for others it sure is.
If you are coming from the north and the yishuvim, there's NO sign that you need to enter the circle. If you're coming from Jerusalem, it's easy to pass Adam in the traffic circle because you're looking for Adam and the sign says "Geva Binyamin".
Then you have a situation where it's a T and you have to choose right or left. Right is towards the yishuvim and left is towards Ramallah.
That puts you on the "Atarot route", by the way. It used to be great to go that way when there would be no traffic if you need to get to 443, Modiin, the airport, etc. Then when they put up the security fence (there it's actually a wall), it screwed everything up.
I was there with my whole family a few months ago and we got caught in a traffic jam waiting to get through the machsom. It used tobe an issue getting through the traffic circle by the entrance to Ramallah. Now it's that machsom.
After too much time in a not so safe situation, I drove around all of the Arabs honking my horn. Even with my gun (which I'm very good at shooting), it was unpleasant. The chayal checking cars looked at us like "what the hell are you doing here?"
I gave him a look back that said "Achi; I'm here because this is my land".
In any case, as one from these parts I can understand how the guy made a wrong turn. WhatI don't understand is how the Magavnikim at the machsom into Ramallah let him in. They should be thrown in jail.
Any way you paint it that man is very lucky.
ReplyDelete