Crazy Taxi

I apologize for the long wait for a blog and also any typos or mispellings in this one because the spell check hates me and Im far too impatient to carefully check this rambling bit of writing.
After taking two taxis this morning to an awesome Mennonite (yeah, weird huh?) bakery where Mom and I procurred all types of delicious goodies, I find myself interested in how people drive in different countries. Now that I´ve traveled to three different Spanish speaking countries I´ve noticed that they vary in accent, quality of life, and even types of food, but they have one thing in common: taxi (and I assume other) drivers. Whether because these countries lack traffic laws (I haven´t seen one speed limit sign here) or traffic enforcement (there were signs in Buenos Aires, but no one seemed to pay a bit of attention to them), in general, people in these three countries are crazy drivers.
When Mom, Dad, my friend Chelsea and I were in Buenos Aires nearly three summers ago, we often took taxies to get around the enormous, sprawling city. After our first experienc, my dad and mom tried to always take the subway when possible. I, on the otherhand, looked forward to the jolting taxi rides that often threw me into Chelsea´s lap and had my mom clinging to the saftey handle above the window. After the inital few rides, I overcame my fear because I didn´t see a single accident even though our driver would often speed by other cars with mere inches (I´m not exageratting!) separating us. When in Buenos Aires, it being the first Spanish country I visited, I thought crazed, reckless driving was a phenomenon particular to the city or maybe the country. But when we then traveled to Spain the following year, we experienced the same type of seemingly reckless yet, my mom and I later theorized, very intuitive driving.
Our theory is that peope in Spanish speaking countries generally have a history of being very close, open and friendly and that traslates into their driving as well. People seem more aware of one another and of their surroundings, which allows them to drive five cars abreast a three lane road, or hurtle through intersections without stop signs or signals. I haven´t seen many people talking on cell phones while driving, (though I´m sure there are those who do) and the people just seem to KNOW what´s going on all around them. It´s really very interesting to experience this sense of being with other people while driving that doesn´t seem to exist in the US, or at least Atlanta.
When driving in Atlanta, I find that people tend to rely heavily on traffic signals, stop signs and other traffic indicators. It seems Atlanta drivers feel safe talking on their cell phones, listening to loud music, and generally not being fully present to their driving because the countless signs and signals create a sense of inherent safety. Here, however, stop lights or signs are rare, mostly only found in the central part of town, therefore people are forced to pay more attention while driving.
If you find this interesting (yeah I know driving is kind of a weird and possible dull subject for most) add your comments about driving where you live and what you think!
Next blog I promise I will share some Guatemalan news and photos (my mom has the camera and usb chord at the moment). Cheers!