On driving and social relationships

Traffic in Indonesia can safely be described as chaotic and dangerous. In the cities, it is a mess of all sorts of motorbikes (ojeks – unofficial moto taxis), vespas, buses, taxis, bull-carts, people crossing (it’s an art). Out of town, the same actors, but there is more space and speed is higher. Here is my profound comparison to North American driving: in the US (as, to a lesser extent, in Europe), drivers drive carefully, without doing reckless moves, relying on others to do the same. In Indonesia the opposite is true: one goes into dangerous overtakings, trusting others not to kill them. This, in absolute, is a more communal, almost fraternal attitude: there, you just think of driving, go on your way, and if something unusual happens, you are upset, outraged and not prepared. Here, you place your life in the hands of others, establish a bond, there is gratitude involved, and you can expect anything, so you are much more alert. If you turn a curve and there is a truck slowly overtaking a small slow bike, you just slow down and get off the road, as needed, and the next time you overtake, a bike coming the other way will go in the dirt to make room for you. Similarly, the average distance from the car ahead is 30cm. In USA this would be unacceptable, clear indication of road rage. Here (and to a lesser extent in Italy) it is not so, there is no hint of irritation or frustration or aggression, it is healthy, in this respect.
Having said that, many accidents occur, and some things are objectively not ideal, e.g. trucks with front and rear wheels not in line, or bent on a side, bikes with no lights on, bikes with insanely heavy or cumbersome loads (like wardrobes complete with full-length mirror, 100kg rice bags)..