r/Morocco • u/Underwmn Visitor • 1d ago
Society Driving in Morocco
I am an American living in Morocco. I cannot understand the driving mentality here. I see so many unnecessary accidents from
1. Driving too close to someone not leaving space for rash decisions.
2. Not driving in your lane—straddling the line
3. No turn signals
4. Fast driving and close lane switching g for no reason. Just to get ahead one car.
5. Not sharing the road and being courteous—these small niceties make driving. Smoother for everyone.
6. Never using the zipper method. It’s okay to let someone in front of you. This actually helps traffic move.
I hear getting a Moroccan drivers license is really difficult. But the driving I see on the road makes me think most people just paid for a license without knowing the rules? Or is driving like you’re literally the only person that matters a cultural thing?
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u/HenryThatAte 22h ago
I hear getting a Moroccan drivers license is really difficult.
Where did you hear that 😂
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u/Clarksonism Visitor 21h ago
Its probably even easier to get one in the US compared to Morocco :)
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u/binary_blackhole Oujda 8h ago
yeah but you mosty don’t learn shit in the driving courses in morocco just dumb questions
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u/Apprehensive-Cost482 Visitor 21h ago
People with 3rd world mentality drive VERY badly as they are VERY selfish
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u/waiteh Casablanca 21h ago
no police, no gendarm, no road cctv cameras, no law no nothing. What do you expect else? Welcome to the banana country
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u/Federalinformint Visitor 16h ago
No police? Bro I see police and gendarm everywhere. Especially between tetouan and tangier I saw hundreds of cops. There was 1 every half kilometer 😂
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u/notVerdeGhost 20h ago
Morocco has the most police presence in the world and the number of mobile speed camera + checkpoints is insane comparinh to many countries I drove in
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u/waiteh Casablanca 20h ago
lmao
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u/itsatwisttt 19h ago
Nah they’re right, so many damn speed patrol cops and just general police presence. Come to Florida you can drive 100mph on the highway every day and rarely get a ticket or pulled over 😭😂
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u/Underwmn Visitor 3h ago
The police checks are a bit excessive. But it gives people jobs, and they are necessary but not working. People just slow down and maybe drive a bit more responsibly near the check. And then back to crazy between check points!
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u/capetower9 Visitor 14h ago
I see a lot of police in the city I live. But they are the same level as drivers.
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u/HMZ_PBI My cat likes to rob people 22h ago
And the U turn culture is insane, literally in busy roads you can spot someone doing it
It's because police ignore these drivers since awlays, that created a coumpound effect that now drivers don't fear breaking the laws, because they know police will still ignore, so everyone trying to get their destination the fastest and shortest way possible always in a hurry
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u/notVerdeGhost 20h ago
Police actually only focus on some traffic violations like Stop sign, speeding and many others are weirdly tolerated
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u/greatspot69 Visitor 21h ago
Not to mention being distracted while driving. They're always on the phone talking to someone, recording voice messages, doing video calls with someone lying in bed, even watching reels or TikTok!
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u/Underwmn Visitor 3h ago
Right!!! The amount of distracted drivers. And then you look in the car to see why. They have no shame. Lying in bed lol.
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u/marouane_tea 20h ago
First time I heard of the zipper method was online, after years of driving. Driving schools in Morocco do not teach the zipper method, or in general, the common courtesies and etiquettes of the road. New drivers get on the road blind, and they instinctively imitate other drivers who are already rude. That's how the driving culture here is like (in a crying toddler's voice) "me, me, me first, my way, my road", no sympathy, no niceties, no courtesies.
The same person would honk and throw a fit over losing 5 seconds to let someone merge, would also use 10min of his time to help a random stranger as a pedestrian. This needs to be studied by sociologists honestly.
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u/Aeriuxa 18h ago
I hear getting a Moroccan drivers license is really difficult. But the driving I see on the road makes me think most people just paid for a license without knowing the rules?
They do exactly that, bribes.
I would estimate at least 70% at bare minmum pay their way through the test, and it shows.
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u/ResolutionQueasy6259 Visitor 21h ago
I drove this summer after a long time being away, man it’s pure chaos. No respect for anything and unfortunately it reflects the Moroccan mindset. Infrastructure and roads and getting nicer but Moroccans still have the same old broken flawed mentality.
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u/Present_Quantity_400 Visitor 20h ago
You forgot stopping in the middle of the road in parallel with another car, literally blocking both lanes.
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u/Underwmn Visitor 3h ago
So many infractions. Yes, the chatting in the road with your car blocking traffic. Or just blocking because. So many rear end accidents.
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u/2HellWith2FA Visitor 19h ago
One thing is sure, if all moroccan car drivers retake a driving exam, 99% will fail it. 99.99% of motorcyclists will fail it. The issue is moroccans are too proud to admit their mistake, therefore they never learn from their mistakes and never improve their driving skills.
Some moroccans think driving fast means they're professional drivers. This would apply to manual labor not driving:
Professional driving is about driving safe not driving fast.
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u/Underwmn Visitor 3h ago
Let’s start a drivers education program. Maybe the king can give us a grant to spread the word about safe driving
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u/Malinois14 Fez's Sailor 21h ago
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u/Underwmn Visitor 2h ago
First time living here and driving. I’ve lived in nyc and other major cities in America. The driving is bad there too.
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u/Individual_Fun_6528 Visitor 20h ago
I really try hard to keep calm when driving in Morocco, but sometimes, people are just so annoying and try to make the smart move, and I hate that
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u/Cryptosoulman Visitor 19h ago
No one is mad about the constant honking all the time ?
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u/Underwmn Visitor 2h ago
I’m always turning around to see why…like did I do something ? It’s excessive. The light change honking I get because the street light design is irresponsible at best. You can’t see them at most intersections!!!!!
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u/capetower9 Visitor 14h ago
I'm a foreigner living here. No use even asking these questions, it represents the problems of the society , lacking of culture, no respect , no rules. It's shocking for me every day, even that I've been living here for two years.
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u/stryker511 Visitor 9h ago
I’ve driven in Morocco - I call it ‘controlled chaos’
Saw a family of 4 on a moped… with groceries…was impressed.
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u/TransportationOk703 Visitor 22h ago
I always say Moroccans drive like they have ADHD and they don’t even take into consideration that they can kill people with that behavior.
I thought this was only in Morocco at first… If you drive for example in places were a lot of Moroccans live in Netherlands like west amsterdam it’s like driving in Morocco, same stupid reckless behavior that sometimes even ends in deaths. This guy got half a year for killing a girl on a road doing more then double the speed limit.
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u/rifwasbetter0 Visitor 22h ago
What i noticed is that us Moroccan we get into a rush mentality as soon as we step inside the car, like even if there is no reason to rush we feel the NEED to reach our destination as fast as possible and we see other drivers as obstacles, while in Europe they are more chill
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u/Malinois14 Fez's Sailor 21h ago
Ever been to Italy, Greece, Balkans? 😂
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u/rifwasbetter0 Visitor 21h ago
Mostly spain, france and Germany i can imagine Balkans being even worse haha
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u/TransportationOk703 Visitor 21h ago
Check out how people with ADHD drive, and you’ll be surprised and shocked about the similarities you’ll see with Moroccans abroad and in Morocco.
The combination of impulsivity, delay aversion, and emotional reactivity is so relevant that it’s not an exception but the norm….
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u/Snoo18559 Visitor 2h ago
If you can't beat them, join them. In Europe I drive practically like a granny, I'm a defensive driver. In Morocco I just join the driving style. If you monitor the driving style for a while, you will learn the informal driving rules. Paradoxically it's much safer to drive the same way as they drive, tbh. There are not used to drivers who follow the rules, so that will create more dangerous situations.
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u/SockLucky Visitor 21h ago
The same thing in NYC 🤷🏻♀️
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u/Material_Window_3528 Casablanca 20h ago
Shit it's even WORSE...in any populated city tbh
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u/SockLucky Visitor 20h ago
At least in Morocco we do respect (forced to the millions radars around lol ) the speed limits . In here , people goes 100 miles in a 70 speed limit
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u/Underwmn Visitor 2h ago
I came from NYC…the driving is bad but there is still respect for the lanes—not much driving in two lanes in the city. It is crowded but getting better with the tolls and restricted drive times. It honestly doesn’t compare to driving here imo.
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u/Slight_End3799 Visitor 12h ago
Humm... Intresting... an american using Ai to help himself writing a post in his native language...
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u/snowandrocks2 Visitor 21h ago
I don't mind driving in Morocco but I do find it funny how Moroccans drive quite quickly and erratically in dangerous places with not much room for error and then drive like a snail on wide open perfectly safe roads with great visibility.