Driving in morocco
In Morocco traffic regulations are similar to those in Europe and one must comply with them completely; nonetheless, “other drivers” will surprise us by the way they break all the rules they can, even those hazardous for one´s personal safety like overtaking in a brow of a hill or disregarding the stop signs. These “other drivers” know when they can and cannot do it and besides they drive “somewhat differently” and “sometimes” they make a mistake. This is why it is not a coincidence that the accident rate in Morocco is a lot higher than in Europe, and that it is quite frequent to see road accidents.
Therefore, when we are considering whether or not take the car to Morocco, we should think less about the possibility (quite unlikely) that our car might be stolen and more about our personal safety when we drive on those roads.
We must be careful for two reasons:
- The roads and motorways are congested with pedestrians and animals, day and night; the lighting in the approach roads to the cities is very poor; they do not observe the right of way at crossings and even less at unbroken lines; secondary roads are very narrow, and so on. Taking all this in mind, speed becomes a bad travel companion.
- An on the other hand, there are zones with speed controls (mobiles radars), many of these are located at the approaches to the cities and on the motorways. And you get a fine even if you go only 1 km above the speed limit. And I can assure you that they are extremely efficient at this.
What I can assure you is that you will be surprised, if you are not used to it, by the way they drive. When we drive on roads that are not controlled by the police or on winding roads, we have to be very careful at the cross roads, the ditches and bends without visibility and of the brows of the hills. And if it can be avoid it, do not drive at night on secondary roads. It is quite normal to see the cars driving in the middle of the road and with the main lights on, on motorways and on other roads, in order not to crash with pedestrians and animals that use the ditches as if they were pathways.
Therefore, I must once again repeat the same advice: pay attention and don´t rush.
Regarding petrol supply there is no problem in most zones. The number of gas stations is quite high and there is unleaded gasoline. The price is quite less than that in Europe. It is a good thing to ask our insurance company if it is convenient to widen one´s insurance.
