AMMAN – Fadi wrote on his relatively old van a slogan that says: “better to spend money on car’s fuel and be happy than spend money on her make-up and get a heart attack”.
The man, in his 30s, told The Jordan Times that he wrote the phrase after he broke up with his fiancée to express his feelings.
“I wrote it because it found that being free (not engaged in a relationship) is much better,” said Fadi, who preferred to be identified only with his first name.
Fadi is one of many motorists across Jordan who inscribe phrases on the backsides of their vehicles, with many sarcastic or funny, while others are seen as aggressive and offensive.
Most of slogans can be seen on trucks, buses, taxis and pickups.
On the streets of Amman, The Jordan Times spotted a truck with the statement “behind every financially troubled man, there is a woman.”
“They said goodbye, I said go to hell,” a taxi driver wrote on the rear window of his vehicle.
Sociologist Majdeddin Khamash, a professor at the University of Jordan, said that writings on cars usually reflect the behaviour and the emotional condition of the motorist who chose to have the slogans, adding that most of the phrases are negative.
These writings are mostly inscribed by young people who see it their personal freedom to express themselves or opinions using this medium, Khamash said, and they may, in the process, offend others, such as women.
“Some have a negative opinion regarding a certain issue or are frustrated because of a certain situation and they try to impose it on others by exposing other community members to their statements on these issues,” he said.
Such a behaviour, writing on car rears, shows the real values of the person or can be considered as an indicator that such persons suffer from serious psychological problems when they use aggressive or offensive slogans, the professor said.
According to a police officer from the Traffic Department, writing slogans on cars is a violation of traffic regulations.
Motorists are not allowed to have writings on their cars and if caught they would be fined JD15 and ordered to remove the slogans, said the officer, who preferred to remain unnamed because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
