Where is the worst place to drive in Israel?

Nearly every Israeli knows that feeling of having lost the way. No, not politically - when driving. Looking for directions and delays have become important parts of any trip to an event. Time-planning also takes into account long minutes of blundering. Those who obey the authoritative instructions of a GPS device are exempt from this experience, and others consult a map or try to repeat and memorize the long explanations given by polite passersby.

There is also another possibility. Telephone road service switchboards provide directions. According to these call centers, the statistics indicate certain places where drivers are apt to get lost, and roads that are harder to navigate.

At the Big call center - the ituran service - they relate that the largest numbers of calls for directions come from Safed. They say that in the city there are no road signs and it is hard to find landmarks. Haifa, too, makes things difficult for drivers because of the road works frequently underway there. In Nazareth the streets do not have names, but rather numbers, and many of the streets are circular, so many drivers call from there for directions.

At the competing call center, Pointer, Jerusalem is considered the most complicated place to navigate, and the largest number of calls comes from there. Many calls also come from the West Bank, from anxious drivers with whom the service stays on the line so they don't make a wrong turn and enter Palestinian locales.

The Ein Hakoreh interchange on Highway 431 is apparently the most complicated interchange in Israel. The signposting for Rishon Letzion is confusing, as are the signs indicating the road to Jerusalem at the turn to Nes Tziona.

Israelis also get lost on the way to distant event venues. Many calls come in to the center from guests heading to events held at Hatzer Netzer, and also places like Neot Kedumim, Ein Vered and Ronit Farm. At Pointer they note that when there are places with similar names, like Ashdot Yaakov Ichud and Ashdot Yaakov Meuchad, or Tel Yitzhak and Beit Yitzhak, many drivers get confused and ask for directions. Calls also come in from Tel Aviv with questions about open stores and nearby parking lots, and there are also calls to locate gas stations.

Alin Goldstein, the CEO of Pointer, says that "drivers who are already traveling on gas fumes urgently need us to find them a gas station of a certain company, according to the kind of fuel account monitor installed in the car."

Somewhat better news is that it's hard to find Israel Defense Forces bases. Many parents who visit their soldier children ask for directions to the bases at Tze'elim, Zikim and Nitzanim. If their children are smaller, parents ask for directions to popular recreational and educational sites like Yamit 2000, Kiftzuba and the Children's Museum in Holon.

And to one and all, have a short and precise trip this coming holiday.