An American in Lima » Traffic & Accidents in Lima

Clarification: It’s called “skitching” (that bombero thing)

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

I knew there was a word for catching a ride on the back of a moving vehicle: It's "skitching," as I've just found out. I posted on some skitchers in northern Peru in "Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru" (October 30). Skateboaders in North America skitch rides mainly for the thrill of it, but in Peru, kids do it out of necessity. Skitching rides is the only way that some poor kids in the provinces have to get around. They kids sell food and drinks to truckers along the highway, but don't even have bicycles to ride. I think the Peruvian skitchers photographed in yesterday's post deserve this t-shirt: It's made and sold by Neighborhoodies, available online. The dangers of skitching -- which few authorities in Peru care about -- have led to several fatalities in North America in the last year and a half. Skitching is now considered a criminal activity in a county in Washington State. Here is a recent AP story about a Vancouver, WA, skateboarder who was sentenced for his participation in a friend's skitching death last year:

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru: Bomberos Hitch Rides, Risk Death on Truckers’ Rigs

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

"I usually use that highway go to work. I saw a lot of those cases of children with their skateboard or a board with wheels (artesanal) (those wheels are metallic and they tolerate the speed) they have had many fatal accidents and some times they do it for work like "fireman", I work for this highway 4 years, most of them are poor children that don't have money neither for the bus ticket, to move from a place to another in long distances and some for "enjoy"."

I haven't been to northern Peru, near the jungle, where this remarkable photo was taken, so I haven't seen the bomberos for myself. But I recognize elements that make this scene typical of contemporary Peru: desperately poor kids/entrepreneurs trying to earn a buck any way they can, the improvised transport (homemade cart coupled to truck), the inexplicable way that authorities allow acts of recklessness to occur on the roads. Every day in Lima I see poor kids and teenagers performing acrobatics at intersections, hoping for a few soles thrown from drivers' windows. I've seen three-year-olds standing on their heads in the middle of the street. The police sometimes chase them away, but the children are always back the next day. They're often "owned" by mafias who make them work the streets and deliver their earnings to adult leaders. After a while, the kids become numbed to the dangers of traffic. And when they are hit by a car, there's hardly ever a reporter around to write the story up. I suspect that most of the childrens' deaths go unreported.

Kids become bomberos in the provinces because there aren't many other ways to earn a living there. Their safety and their lives are expendable, as evidences by authorities' unwillingness to prohibit the activity.

This photo intrigues me because while it's visually exciting, the details in it hint at the dark social problems underpinning the scene. Look at the face of the boy on the back: He isn't thrilled; he's nonplussed.

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

Hit by Truck, Tree Weeps Blood in Miraflores

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

[caption id="attachment_366" align="alignright" width="228" caption="Blood-red sap oozes from freshly broken tree limb, Miraflores; photo by Jorge Vera"][/caption] Aug. 19, 2008, Lima: More neighborhood destruction to report, resulting from poorly rerouted traffic from Av. Republica Panama (the old Pan-Americana Highway) into our neighborhood. A beautiful old tree was murdered by a reckless Lima truck driver, who had to get from Point A to Point B in as little time as possible -- no matter that his vehicle couldn't fit on our tiny streets. And no police or guards stopped him from making an improper detour. A 32-foot-long trailer bearing a shipping container detoured off busy Rep. Panama into the old family neighborhood of San Antonio, Lima, at approximately 3 p.m., Saturday, August 16. The oversized Ausa truck barrelled down the first block of Calle F. de Paula Ugarriza, heedless that its cargo container was larger and wider than the growth of old trees shading the street. The truck plowed into the left side of a 40-foot-high tree at #637, tearing off its main limb and felling huge branches onto parked cars. Power and cable lines also were downed. Shocked residents ran into the street shouting for the truck to stop. The driver came to a halt at Parque Leoncio Prado, where he was apprehended by security guards, then police, and taken to police headquarters for four hours of questioning. [caption id="attachment_365" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Tree hit by semi-truck in Miraflores, August 2008"][/caption] Initial reports indicate that the truck driver lacked a license to drive the truck. El Fotografo and I saw the police lights flashing on Ugarriza and went to investigate. EF was shocked when he saw the bashed tree; it had been there since he was a kid, he said. In Lima, a desert city that receives no rain, trees that tall are rare. "Esta muerto! Esta muerto!" a distraught neighbor in her 60s said. The driver should be charged with tree homicide, I said to EF. [caption id="attachment_364" align="aligncenter" width="432" caption="Semi truck with sea crate after accident, Miraflores, Lima"][/caption] I walked up to the tree to see the damage up close. The exposed wood where the huge limb had been sheared off was weeping sap -- a crimson liquid that looked like blood. The red sap welled up, drop by drop. The tree's wound looked so human, it hurt to look at it. The inept bureaucrats who are overseeing this chaotic road "improvements" in this city need to wake up to the damage they're causing, I thought. I should write the mayor of Miraflores a letter.

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

How to Solve Lima’s Missing Manhole Crisis in a Hurry

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

The body of the teenage boy who drowned in a Lima sewer has finally been found, Lima police announced July 24. [caption id="attachment_107" align="alignright" width="208" caption="Ray Pomiano Villanueva"][/caption] After a 12-day search, the body of Ray Pomiano Villanueva was found in the Huaral district of Chancay, approximately 186 miles from where he fallen into an open manhole. Pomiano, who was trying to catch a bus when he plunged in the hole, was swept away by rushing sewage in front of dozens of witnesses. The boy's body was found in a sewage drain by fishermen. He was 15 or 16 years old, according to conflicting accounts in Peru21 and El Ojo. Missing manhole covers are common on the streets of Peru, where thieves trade them on the black market for a few soles each. Sedapal, the city's sanitation system, is responsible for replacing the covers but has done little to nothing. Click here to read Israel Ruiz's summary in Living in Peru. What a tragic and senseless way to die. I hope that authorities for Sedapal will be held accountable for Pomiano's death. These open manholes aren't an aberration in Lima; the streets are full of them. Sedapal should have been refitting the open manholes months ago. One thought: Give Sedapal a timeline by which to complete all repairs to open manholes. The day after the deadline, blindfold the company jefes and have them cross the streets where manhole covers were missing. If Sedapal were ordered to follow this plan of action, Lima streets would be restored to civilized conditions very, very quickly.

Lima Teen Falls in Open Manhole & Disappears in Sewer

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

This is one of the most awful events I've heard about recently. Lima has a huge problem with people stealing manhole covers, and the streets are becoming hazardous to pedestrians – now fatally, for one Lima teenager. El Fotógrafo told me about the incident over breakfast. "What a way to go," he said, shaking his head. The story was so preposterous, I didn't believe him at first. Then I googled "tapas de desagues [sewer tops], Lima," and the news item came up on the Peru21 website. Blogger Kalun Lau wrote about a similar theft problem in Trujillo, on his Spanish-language site Kalumonology (Lau's photo of sewer hole minus lid above). Here's my translation of the Peru21 article, which also appears in today's Living in Peru news section: "For a few soles, thieves in Lima are stealing manhole covers, threatening the lives of thousands of people. So far this year, 1,900 of these covers have been stolen in Lima and Callao, creating death traps for pedestrians of all ages. From January to June, in Villa El Salvador and San Juan de Miraflores alone, 418 lids were reported as missing. "A troubling example is what happened the last Saturday in the eighth block of Avenida Morales Duárez, in the Cercado de Lima district of the city. Teenager Ray Pomiano Villanueva (15), in a second of distraction, ran into an uncovered drain hole in the middle of the street and, before the eyes of dozens of witnesses, fell in and disappeared, dragged by the flowing sewage. "Until now [July 16, 2008] his body has not been found. According to rescue workers, Pomiano could be stranded on a beach in Callao or in a collecting drain in Los Olivos. He may have been trapped in an underground pipe. "The victim's sister, Vanessa Pomiano, called for Sedapal to intensify its rescue efforts. "We demand that they continue searching morning, afternoon and night to find him," she said. "Criminal law specialist Luis Lamas Pucci said that the Attorney General will bring a lawsuit against the sanitation company for acting with obvious negligence. "This is culpable homicide in its aggravated form," said Lamas. "The penalty could be four years in prison for the head of the corresponding department and even for board members. They must compensate the family for at least one million soles." I read El Híjo the news item a few minutes ago. He thinks the Pomianos should be suing SEDAPAL for 50 million soles. "They need a new lawyer," EH says. If any readers has photos of Lima manholes missing their covers, feel free to send them to mail@americaninlima.com. I'll post them on the blog.

Death Window, Lima Combi Bus

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Looking through El Fotógrafo's photos of the car crash in our neighborhood in April, I was struck by the irony of this image: The driver of the combi had just crashed his busload of passengers into a small car driven by a mother with her preschool daughter. Medics had already arrived on the scene to cart the wounded to the hospital. Combi drivers in Lima are notorious for their recklessness, which borders on the suicidal. Under the skull and crossed daggers, the message in yellow reads: "Si no manejo bien, llama a tu hermana" (If I'm not driving well, call your sister).

Crazy Combi Collides with Car in San Antonio, Miraflores – Victims Strewn on Sidewalk

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru: Bomberos Hitch Rides, Risk Death on Truckers’ Rigs

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

Hit by Truck, Tree Weeps Blood in Miraflores

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

How to Solve Lima’s Missing Manhole Crisis in a Hurry

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

Lima Teen Falls in Open Manhole & Disappears in Sewer

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

Death Window, Lima Combi Bus

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Crazy Combi Collides with Car in San Antonio, Miraflores – Victims Strewn on Sidewalk

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

An American in Lima » Traffic & Accidents in Lima

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru: Bomberos Hitch Rides, Risk Death on Truckers’ Rigs

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

Hit by Truck, Tree Weeps Blood in Miraflores

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

How to Solve Lima’s Missing Manhole Crisis in a Hurry

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

Lima Teen Falls in Open Manhole & Disappears in Sewer

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

Death Window, Lima Combi Bus

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Crazy Combi Collides with Car in San Antonio, Miraflores – Victims Strewn on Sidewalk

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

An American in Lima » Traffic & Accidents in Lima

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru: Bomberos Hitch Rides, Risk Death on Truckers’ Rigs

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

Hit by Truck, Tree Weeps Blood in Miraflores

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

How to Solve Lima’s Missing Manhole Crisis in a Hurry

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

Lima Teen Falls in Open Manhole & Disappears in Sewer

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

Death Window, Lima Combi Bus

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Crazy Combi Collides with Car in San Antonio, Miraflores – Victims Strewn on Sidewalk

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

An American in Lima » Traffic & Accidents in Lima

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru: Bomberos Hitch Rides, Risk Death on Truckers’ Rigs

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

Hit by Truck, Tree Weeps Blood in Miraflores

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

How to Solve Lima’s Missing Manhole Crisis in a Hurry

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

Lima Teen Falls in Open Manhole & Disappears in Sewer

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

Death Window, Lima Combi Bus

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Crazy Combi Collides with Car in San Antonio, Miraflores – Victims Strewn on Sidewalk

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

An American in Lima » Traffic & Accidents in Lima

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru: Bomberos Hitch Rides, Risk Death on Truckers’ Rigs

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

Hit by Truck, Tree Weeps Blood in Miraflores

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

How to Solve Lima’s Missing Manhole Crisis in a Hurry

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

Lima Teen Falls in Open Manhole & Disappears in Sewer

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

Death Window, Lima Combi Bus

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Crazy Combi Collides with Car in San Antonio, Miraflores – Victims Strewn on Sidewalk

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

An American in Lima » Traffic & Accidents in Lima

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru: Bomberos Hitch Rides, Risk Death on Truckers’ Rigs

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

Hit by Truck, Tree Weeps Blood in Miraflores

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

How to Solve Lima’s Missing Manhole Crisis in a Hurry

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

Lima Teen Falls in Open Manhole & Disappears in Sewer

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

Death Window, Lima Combi Bus

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Crazy Combi Collides with Car in San Antonio, Miraflores – Victims Strewn on Sidewalk

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

An American in Lima » Traffic & Accidents in Lima

Barbara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:59:16 +0000

Teen sentenced in Vancouver for 'skitching' death

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VANCOUVER -- A teenager who killed his best friend in a skateboarding accident was sentenced in Vancouver to 60 hours of community service. Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Johnson told 17-year-old Christian Moothart at Thursday's sentencing he should speak to youth groups to warn other about the danger of letting a skateboarder hang on to a car, a practice dubbed "skitching."
Moothart was driving in August of last year with his friend Joey Madison riding a longboard and holding on to a window. He fell and was run over. The Columbian reports Moothart was convicted of reckless endangerment.

Dangerous Skateboarding in Peru: Bomberos Hitch Rides, Risk Death on Truckers’ Rigs

Barbara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:20:58 +0000

My eyes popped when I saw this image on Boing Boing, taken from Zeraga’s Flickr pool via Street Use:

In Perú from Huánuco to Tingo Maria, where the road from the Pacific coast across the Andes finds its way towards the Amazon lowlands. This is near the top of the last mountain pass. From there, a soapbox rider can enjoy a vertical 1000 meters of gravity assisted ride. As these kids help stranded truck drivers along the road, they're called bomberos (firemen). They transport drinks, food and spare parts to broken trucks.

A Peruvian (ZU) who travels that part of northern Peru adds:

This is work for him, not an "extreme sport."

Hit by Truck, Tree Weeps Blood in Miraflores

Barbara — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:19:34 +0000

Mayor Masias: In April you promised to bring safety and order to the process of improving the city's streets. You promised to do better than did your predecessor, the mayor of Lima. Is this senseless destruction your idea of making Miraflores a better place?

How to Solve Lima’s Missing Manhole Crisis in a Hurry

Barbara — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:30:41 +0000

Lima Teen Falls in Open Manhole & Disappears in Sewer

Barbara — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 02:36:43 +0000

Death Window, Lima Combi Bus

Barbara — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:56 +0000

Crazy Combi Collides with Car in San Antonio, Miraflores – Victims Strewn on Sidewalk

Barbara — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:20:07 +0000

LIMA, PERU (4/29/08): You don't usually see car crashes in my quiet neighborhood of San Antonio, but that changed abruptly last Saturday afternoon, April 26, when a speeding combi bus collided with a small car carrying a mother and child. The combi plowed into a concrete pole at Avenida Arias Aragues and Calle General Silva, by Parque Leoncio Prado, injuring numerous passengers and ramming the other motorist's car into an orange detour sign. Ambulances carted victims off on stretchers, and police and reporters ran around piecing together events, while angry neighbors lined the sidewalks, fuming, "I told you so." El Fotógrafo took a bunch of photos and fired them off to the mayor of Miraflores and the daily newspapers El Comercio and Peru 21. The accident was no surprise to anyone who lives near Parque Leoncio Prado. Since Sunday, April 20, our small neighborhood had been under siege by traffic rerouted due to construction on the busy Avenida Roosevelt, the former Pan Americana Highway. And this wasn't just any traffic: it was streaming masses of large city buses and small independent combis, racing at up to 50 miles per hour. Such speeds are dangerous on the bumpy, four-lane Roosevelt; on the narrow one- and two-lane streets of our old neighborhood, they are homicidal. To make matters worse, some brilliant bureaucrat got it in his head to reverse the direction of traffic on General Silva, where for decades cars have proceeded west from Roosevelt. That senseless 180-degree change threw longtime residents into a tailspin. Overnight, people woke to discover their familiar streets choked with combis racing in the opposite direction, east, through intersections with no stoplights and no signage to indicate who has right of way. Pure chaos. Tension built throughout the week of April 20, as neighbors tried to carry on their normal routines while dodging the nonstop traffic. In our family, just crossing the street to walk our dog in the park was harrowing. Several times I had to yank Lola from the curb before she was hit. We forbid El Hijo from skateboarding in the park, since the sidewalks there are separated from the street by only a narrow strip of grass. Nor were we the only locals who came close to being run over: several times I watched as some viejo tottered unsteadily at the curb, trying to launch himself into a break in the traffic. No one – retirees walking their dogs, working people, maids, nannies with children, teenagers from the nearby high school-- could walk about easily. Plus, the noise – horns, brakes screeching -- was deafening. Think of the rush of traffic on New York's Broadway being squeezed into a medieval alley in Cordoba and you have a sense of how awful it was. El Fotografo sent two emails to the mayor of Miraflores, complaining that the detour was dangerous and unsuitable, but received no reply. Another neighbor circulated a flyer, urging residents to complain to a city manager, which many of us did. The week wore on, nothing changed, and I began to wonder if we hadn't made a mistake moving to San Antonio. Early on Friday morning, April 25, as I was walking home with a friend from an exercise class, I commented at the intersection of Arias Aragues and General Silva that there was going to be an accident there. "Muy peligroso" I repeated several times, to which she wearily agreed. It had already become stale, all this complaining and kvetching. Then my friend marched off to catch her combi further south, and I went back to our house and holed up in my office – literally holed up because I refused to open the windows onto the noisy street. One day later, the crash. As far as I know, no one died, but several people were hospitalized. On Sunday, the day after, the detour signs came down in our neighborhood, and traffic was rerouted three blocks away, to a four-lane avenue that had been the obvious choice to begin with. Today it's Tuesday, three days after the accident, and the mayor of Lima has issued an official apology for problems caused by roadwork in the city, notes Living in Peru. "I ask you to understand that it is a temporary situation and that the city is recovering from years of backed up roadwork," said Lima mayor Luis Casteñeda. "Citizens have a right to get upset but all this is in an effort to organize a new transportation system." The mayor asserts that all the roadwork is necessary for Lima to become a "modern city." The mayor doesn't mention the April 26 accident in San Antonio, but I suspect news of it helped prompt his apology. Perhaps El Fotografo's letters to the district mayor reached Casteñeda. (It turns out that the rerouting program had been planned by someone in the city of Lima, rather than the smaller district. The revised rerouting is being overseen by the district of Miraflores itself.) Why does it often take a tragedy, or a near-tragedy, to initiate change that is obviously needed?