Heraklion just announced that almost the entire city is dropping to 30 km/h, as if a smaller number on a sign will suddenly cure the island’s driving culture.
On paper, it sounds noble.
In reality, it is adorable — the kind of optimism only someone who has never actually driven here could have.
Ask an actual driver who spends every morning and evening navigating this city, and the answer is simple:
“It won’t change a damn thing.”
And here is why.
“Nobody here pays attention to any traffic law. None.”
This is not an exaggeration. It is not drama. It is not some poetic Cretan trope. It is daily life.
Drivers here do not stop at stop signs — at all. He sees it happen constantly: “I see ten cars in a row blow through the stop sign. I see seventy-five to a hundred stop sign violations a day just walking the dog.”
Seventy-five to a hundred. In one neighborhood. In one day.
How is a 30 km/h sign going to fix that? It won’t. Because people do not ignore the speed limit out of rebellion — they ignore it because they don’t even see it.
“Scooters have superpowers here.”
This one needs no introduction. If you live in Crete, you already know.
Scooters in Heraklion do not obey earthly rules. They do not follow lanes. They do not consider obstacles. They do not believe in danger.
They behave like supernatural creatures with diplomatic immunity.
One moment, they’re behind you.
Next, they’re gliding along the sidewalk, slipping past pedestrians with the confidence of a man returning to his own living room.
Before you can even process that, they’ve squeezed between two cars that are kissing mirrors, then launched forward, carving through a double line on a blind mountain curve like they signed an insurance waiver with God.
If you think they stay on the street, you’re new here.
They’ll drive into buildings, cut against traffic like they’re the chosen ones, and there’s a particular serenity — almost spiritual — with which they float through red lights. No fear. No hesitation. No rules.
“They can go anywhere they want,” he says.
“They’re indestructible. They know they’re indestructible.”
And do you think they care about t
