What Is Wrong In This Picture?
Apr 10th, 2007 by Don Ray
Take your time and study this photo and see if you can see a problem. To orient you, this is at the corner in David that has the new electric traffic lights. While this is a slight clue, I will tell you that the problem has nothing to do with the traffic light. It is still flashing “Red” in all directions and the traffic is stopping in two directions and ignoring the light in the only other direction.
Give up? Need another clue? Ok let me enlarge a portion of the first photo.
In this photo you can see a new traffic sign that has recently been put into the ground. Now do you see the problem? The sign is wrong. At the corner you can go straight or turn left onto the one way street. Either they put up the wrong sign, made the sign wrong or put it facing the wrong direction. If it had been placed on the other corner for the traffic coming this way, it would have been correct.
Now I wonder how long before it gets changed. Want to start a pool?
Updated Viewpoint found here.
Hi Don;
I’ve driven a fair amount in Panama and am not quite sure what the intention of the yellow sign is showing the collision. Is it a 2-way traffic sign, or just a reminder that you’re going to get smacked at the upcoming intersection.
Greg
Good question Greg. Today was the first time I noticed that sign also. I think it is some sort of innocuous reminder that the intersection is with a one way street and if you turn right that is what is going to happen.
Why they didn’t put a “one way only” sign, pointing the direction of traffic flow, I have no idea. However if you interpret the “no left turn” sign and turn right there is a good chance that the yellow sign will be correct.
I looked at most of the pictures I have missed and then got stuck on this one. I tried to figure out what the problem is but didn’t. It did, however, remind me that some 54 years ago, when I was driving in Japan, there were no traffic lights and no stop signs and very few automobiles. By the time 1955 and 1956 got there from 1953, they did have a policeman standing on a box at a busy intersection near the train station. Otherwise it was who got to the intersection first and whose horn was the loudest. It worked. I don’t recall ever seeing any accidents. I must confess that it was a different story in the big city of Tokyo. The taxi drivers there were all called Kamikaze pilots because they drove the crowded streets of that city without concern for anything or anybody except themselves, their vehicle and their paying passenger. It was a nightmare but most of us survived.
Hi Abe. Thanks for stopping in. Hopefully most of us will survive the activation of traffic lights here as well. I always enjoy hearing about your experiences in japan.
And the answer is: Traffic through this busy intersection only flows through the intersection, or north, to the left, and eventually the Interamerican Highway. However, the traffic advisory sign viewed as one approaches this instersection, indicates that no left turns are permitted! Can this be so? Only in Panamá! Another of the many MOP mistakes.
Hi Ken. Yes the sign is wrong. It should say no right turn since that is a one way street only going to the left toward the interamerican highway. Maybe the fellow that did it was distracted by a pretty girl.
Don, First time we have blogged your site. Net place. We met you at the gringo meeting the other day at Rancheros.
I have figured out the picture. The taxi is black—-Just kidding.
Hi Steve and G. Thanks for stopping in. The taxi being black is another issue. They have said that all taxis are supposed to now be painted yellow. That is going to be an interesting photo taken from an airplane or see from a satellite photo.
Hi Don,
Congratulations for your blog, it’s great! I have really enjoyed reading it. I also think that the sign was placed in the wrong side of the road by the MOP workers. I don’t think that many Panamanians actually will pay much attention to the sign or what it means or why it was placed there. At least it was like that when I was learning to drive in David in the 80s. I am born in David and now I’m living in Denmark and I have not been in David since 2005, so I am actually very curious to know where these new traffic lights are, I just can’t recognize the place from the picture, though the yellow building looks familiar.
Hi Mariene. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I am glad you are enjoying my blog. The yellow building is the University del Istma (UDI). I haven’t been inside and should stop in sometime.
I think you are right and that the sign is put on the wrong side. Maybe the sign was already on the pole and there wasn’t a place to put it on the other side and the employee just thought one side is as good as another.
[...] April 10th, I wrote “What’s Wrong With This Picture”. Specifically, it was this photo that I was referring [...]