Oil Wars

Of late I've taken some heat for criticizing the consumption binge that the Venezuelan government is promoting. In particular, my suggestion that Venezuela should possibly take the South Korean route of banning imports of certain luxury items - such as private automobiles - raised the ire of more than a few commentators.

And my opinions aside, Venezuelans are buying LOTS of cars.

But there is a larger question here that is raised by this picture of a typical Venezuelan intersection:



Given that the overwhelming majority of Venezuelan motorists (opposition and Chavista alike) haven't a clue how to drive is it really safe to be putting automobiles in their hands?

In Venezuela , go to the bank, get a loan, sign up on a list, and next thing you know you have a car. Actually knowing how to drive doesn't figure into that equation.

Maybe Venezuelans are ripe for some mandated driver education classes?

Nothing super sophisticated mind you. Just the basics like learning which side of the road they should be driving on, what those things hanging over intersections with green, yellow and red lights mean, and that it isn't good manners to actually accelerate when you see a pedestrian trying to cross the street.

And no, even though your country is named after Venice, you should NOT try to drive like Italians.
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