Traveling through the streets of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ranks as some of the most intense and uncomfortable moments in my life. When one thinks of traveling in an automobile, it is difficult not to interpret this through a western lens, where vehicles traverse across well managed, paved highways in relatively comfortable conditions. This frame of reference must be dropped to understand the chaos of Congolese roads. In order to understand, one must first take note that for the average Congolese driver, a vehicle is not a possession that should be taken care of and maintained, but simply a device to get that person from point A to point B. The condition of one’s car is of no concern. In fact, due to this mentality and the poor driving conditions, the number of cars that I observed that would have passed any sort of inspection in the United States could be counted on one hand. Every vehicle, without exception, is beaten in and damaged to the point that if it were to drive passed you on any American road, it would be impossible not to take notice.
    Why is this the case? Due to the massive amounts of rain experience in the country, road conditions are as bad as can be imagined. Potholes three to four feet deep are not uncommon. The difference between off-roading and street driving can hardly be distinguished at many points. This fact is made worse by the driving mentality of Congolese drivers, which tends to be very aggressive but for good reason. Street laws are nonexistent. Even driving on the right side of the road is more of a suggestion rather than a rule. I could not begin to estimate the amount of time we lost due to traffic jams, and these jams differ from the American perception of a traffic jam. Fifty, one hundred, or even more cars will be crammed into intersections as tightly as is physically possible. This is no exaggeration. Cars will literally be within millimeters of one another, if there is any space between them at all. What makes this worse is the fact that vehicles will be facing as many directions as there are vehicles. Forget two lanes with vehicles going one way or the other. In one such instance, we were caught in a traffic jam for over two hours in which the vehicles were so compacted, it was literally impossible to leave the hot oven that had become the inside of our car. And air conditioning is a luxury that is unknown to the Congolese, which makes the 120 degree summers horrendous.
    Perhaps the worst part of all this is the fact that public transportation only compounds this problem. Most public transportation consists of yellow and blue vans that travel throughout the city. These vehicles are incredibly crowded and uncomfortable. Seats consist of boards that run the width of the van’s interior. Because of the terrible road conditions, occupants of the van experience a terribly bumpy ride! With virtually nothing to hold on to, I, on multiple occasions, managed to knock my head against every side of the van, including the ceiling. Luckily, most of the time we were able to hire a driver, but this did not alleviate our issues. On one of Kinshasa’s busiest streets, our car completely stopped working, and I was forced, in my Sunday’s best, to push our car for dozens of yards out of the way of oncoming traffic. Had it not been for the generosity of the Congolese people who assisted us, I’m not sure what would have happened. These drivers do not come cheap, either. Their prices range from fifty to one hundreds dollars a day to rent, making this form of travel a luxury.
    With all these travel issues, why would one not just walk to their respective destination? Many times, such a decision is impossible. I have been to many different big cities (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, etc.), but I have never seen a city that could even compare to the size of Kinshasa. The city is large enough to be considered its own province. The city is significantly larger than the state of Delaware. Without any traffic jams, it could take upwards of three and a half hours just to drive across the city. Without a vehicle, any significant travel would be impossible. And traveling on foot is not the safest of options, either. There were numerous streets that were so dangerous, those who were with us would not even allow us to leave the vehicle for fear of our safety. Because of this and many other reasons, travel in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be appalling.