The intricacies of Panamanian trafic regulations

As you can imagine I try to use my trip to Santiago as efficient as possible and combine a million things to do. Last Wednesday I spent 5 hours in Santiago in de registered driving school. After payment of 60 dollars, 5 hours theory and some tests (theory and practical) they issue a certificate that they believe you are ready to do the exam for a Panamanian driver’s license. So after I was brainwashed by 5 hours rapid Spanish (they tried to fit a lot into those hours, no break but you could leave briefly if you needed so), slideshows with the rules, law and regulations and some shocking videos about the results of some accidents involving alcohol, we got a theory test with 30 questions (you may fail 6).

I was exempt from the practical part because I do have a proof of my driving capacity (an expired Mozambican driver’s license). Another young man was also exempt because he came to expand his current license. Justino also participated in the session but he was unprepared (we thought it was just theory because that is what they told me) and has to practice more (with whoever wishes to give his car and time for that – since 2007 illegal, but still common practice) and re-do the practical before receiving the certificate.

Results of the theory tests are to be collected on the 1st... and all mistakes will be explained because it is about understanding and obtaining the license. If you fail you also have to study at home and re-do the test. I do not know it yet but shall know it soon and include the results here in brackets (I passed the first test, but on the 1st everybody had to do yet another theory test, the official one with 6 questions, I passed that too).

Just to add some facts. The famous Pan American Highway is by Panamanian law not a “Autopista” but an “International Road” (carretera), only close to Panama city does it turn into a true highway. Panama has only 4 real highways (autopistas) and also only 4 pedestrian traffick lights, none of these occur in Veraguas province.
An avenida has right of way and calles are secundary urban roads. However, in Santiago we have a road called the “calle decima” (close to the bus terminal for those who have been here) but it is an Avenida... There is a crossing where it is always chaos (who knows who has right of way...) and they have now installed the very first traffic lights of the whole province above it. Nevertheless, it is still chaos because they do not work properly yet.

Mariato, where we rent a house, has since one month more than one road with tar and so we have “equal crossings” and suddenly this week we have more road signs in Mariato than we have cars!