Driving in Samoa?

Hi all,
I wanted to check was the driving conditions are in Samoa. I'm American, hence used to driving on the right.

From looking at a previous post, it looks like the country switched from driving on the right to driving on the left last September 2009. Also, it seems like outside the capital, its fairly low traffic, and less likely to be a problem. Just wanted to check if anybody knows if driving is OK, and confirm that the switch went through.

Thanks!
H

The switch went through quite smoothly and for almost one year we are driving on the wrong (left ) side of the road now here in Samoa. No problems whatsoever. Everybody got used to it.

Traffic increased as there are a lot more cars now around than a year ago. Official speed limit throughout Samoa is still reduced to 15 mph in the town area and 25 mph elsewhere! Driving slowly is recommended anyway as people might be walking, sitting or even laying on the roadside, other vehicles may not have tail lights or there are dogs or pigs on the road. So drive slowly and enjoy your trip.

Driving in Samoa is a piece of cake, and probably a great place to be introduced to driving on the left. The roads are decent (very good on Savaii), and nearly everybody drives so incredibly slow. I'd recommend Samoana if you're looking to rent a car - I was pleased with them and it was a far better/newer car than what I saw other people renting.

It's not your own driving you need to worry about but the pedestrians, bus drivers and other car drivers. Centre of the road is common for bus drivers and speeding Hi-luxes, particularly in less settled areas such as the M'afa Pass on Upolu and long stretches on the south coast of Savai'i. Pedestrians in villages, who may not get to Apia that often or at all, can fail to look in the correct direction of traffic when crossing. Sadly, there were a couple of serious injuries and deaths at the time of switchover. Passengers routinely ride unrestrained in the boot area of Hi-luxes. A little Hyundai Getz will do everything you need. Villages often build speed humps in roads so make sure you slow down because they are roughly built and can be a bit of a shock if crossed at any speed over a crawl.

Take it slow. If you kill a pig or injure a person the village/family may expect compensation - after they have possibly assaulted the driver. Many people are not insured so make sure you are. Also, many villages regard it as disrespectful to drive through at normal speed during prayer time in the early evening.

I've just returned from a 10 day holiday in Samoa, 8 in Savai'i, and two in and around Apia. Hired a RAV4 from Samoana. No problems at all. Just keep it fairly slow, and be very attentive. It's not at all unusual to have chickens, pigs, and dogs cross the road in front of you, sometimes without any indication they are about to do that. There are speed humps all over the place. Most can be taken at about 20-30K, but the behemoths in Apia need a speed of >15K. (kM/hr)

On the open road, where things improve a bit, I found a speed of 75k felt very fast indeed..perceptually similar to about 150k at home (not that I ever do that of course) because the roads are narrow and there's not much room between the edge of the road and the jungle. You'll find you are self limiting regarding speed.

Another thing. On Savai'i, speed limit signs appear to be rare. This is good and bad. Bad because you don't know the limit (assume it's 40k max in any village) and good because without needing to be distracted by numbers, you tend to drive to the conditions, something we all should be doing anyway, I guess.

Treat the local pedestrians the way you'd like to be treated by vehicles (enough room, keep it quiet and predictable, dip your lights at night etc) and most will probably smile and wave as you bimble along on your way.

75k? Even though they now just lifted the restrictions imposed after the road switch last year - the speed limit in Samoa is 40k in Apia and 55k anywhere else in the whole country. 25 mph and 35 mph respectively.

I was told it was 75, but without a copy of the road code to peruse, have only local opinions to have based it on. The only speed limit signs I saw were in Apia, advising of a 30k restriction.

Certainly on the "open" road, doing about 70, plenty of drivers passed me.