If you’re planning on driving in a different country, it’s important to familarise yourself any new traffic laws before getting on the road. It can feel odd to suddenly go by new regulations, but it is vital to abide by them in order to keep yourself and others safe.
With that being said, a French tourist was left baffled after learning about an ‘infuriating’ driving rule that people in Corfu, Greece, have to follow on certain routes.
Taking to TikTok, a woman named Angeli claimed the popular Greek island had ‘tested her road rage’ after she got stuck at traffic lights for minutes on end.
“Not Greece testing my road rage issues,” she wrote on the video as she zoomed in on a specific road sign.
Sitting in traffic that’s at a complete stand-still, Angeli zoomed in on a road sign that was underneath a traffic light.
The road sign first explained the rules in Greek, before sharing an English translation, which said that the light changes every seven and a half minutes.
So if you don’t make it through the lights the first time, you could end up getting stuck there for 15 minutes or more. Just for one crossing!
While the video in question was made in Lakones village, rules like this one are not uncommon in Greek locations like Corfu.
Even though the long waiting time may be frustrating, they do serve an important purpose.
Due to the extremely small roads, especially for large vehicles like buses, a single traffic light is used to control vehicle flow, leading to potential delays of several minutes for drivers.
The sign has been shared on to social media multiple times as tourists often get baffled when they see it. Time was no exception – because viewers quickly took to the comment section of Angeli’s video to share their bafflement.
One jokingly remarked: “Sorry I was take to work, the lights took seven minutes and 30 seconds to go green.”
Someone else wrote: “What?!?!?! Why??? I can only presume it’s to act as a big disincentive to go that route? No one needs be penalised like that though.”
A third blasted: “Seven and a half minutes is diabolical.” However, others said they had seen similar regulations in other countries.
Another person went on to share: “In Poland I have seen similar but with 30m intervals. Locals ignored it totally.”
