Pearl of the Indian Ocean

The roads here are not quite as crazy as in Jaipur. (Emphasis there on the "not quite".) But there is still a code. The "code" is the body of rules that must be obeyed to survive a country's roads. The "code" for roads in England is largely determined by our driving tests.

In Sri Lanka, I am told that there are no driving tests.

The "code" is therefore crucial. Here it is an unwritten understanding; the Messiah looked up to by the mish mash of Sri Lanka's vehicles. It is largely unknown to foreigners ... but after a car journey with a colleague, I now have an insight.

Size matters.

The lorries always win. Next come pesky white vans, who like to think they rule. (Unless, of course, a lorry crosses their path. Then they'll give in.) Following the vans are cars, then tuk-tuks (see here), then motorbikes, then push bikes. Pedestrians, of course, make up the bottom.

A few sub-rules. The sex of the driver also influences size status. Nicola, my colleague, maintains that she is treated as a tuk-tuk driver because she is female. And then there are the makes: Ranil, the CEO, is elevated to van driver status because he owns a porsche.

The politics of automobiles: a complex matter.