Parallel parking - or not!

There is no disputing that the standard of driving on our roads is so abysmal as to be laughable if it didn't cause so many accidents. A large proportion of the driving population are unlicensed because it is so easy to bribe those who do the tests to pass you. In fact, you are likely to be failed at least three times if you don't offer a bribe just to swell the legitimate coffers through additional application fees. Sometimes, it is easier to buy a completely fake licence so you don't have to go to all the inconvenience of turning up for a fake driving test!

For the small percentage of the population that actually understands the purpose of a driving test, it is hard to tolerate the arrogance and lack of consideration displayed by a person who can start a vehicle and steer it in the general direction the road is taking, without understanding a single road sign, or what road markings mean, let alone the basics of the colours on a traffic light. A speed limit is just a number (although I must admit that there are occasions when I can agree with that - case in point, Chapman's Peak Drive, where some Charlie decided 40kmh was a suitable speed to negotiate a road that is subject to unanticipated rockfalls which cannot always be contained by their safety nets. But I digress again...)

But for me, there is one aspect of incompetent driving that never fails to amuse. The inability to parallel park. For many years, our local traffic cop was someone to be feared for his uncanny ability to spot every single traffic offender in Fish Hoek, and no-one was ever able to escape the long arm of the law when he was around. Nobody would dare park under a No Parking sign, or attempt a U-turn in any road and most definitely never park facing the wrong direction. But since he retired and a whole new dynamic took over our traffic policing (or rather, lack of it), daredevil deeds are the order of the day. No effort is made to even adhere to the guidelines painted on the road for parking places.

 Today this gem presented itself in Fish Hoek Main Road and I joined a small crowd who shook their heads in disbelief. To make it even more ridiculous, this must be one of the smallest cars you can buy!