Chaos as Iraq limits driving to save fuel

BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) — The country with the world’s third largest oil reserves should not run out of fuel.

But Iraq has come perilously close to doing just that. To save fuel, and to general confusion, the government has ordered half the capital’s car fleet off the roads on any given day.
Tuesday was the first day of the new rule, and only cars with licence plates ending in an odd number could take to the streets. And an odd day it proved for drivers.

At 9:00 a.m., normally the height of rush hour in this traffic-clogged capital, streets were almost empty. And the few officials who knew about the rule did not seem to understand it.

Reuters