Fools on the road

I believe I may have mentioned once or twice what shockingly bad drivers we have in South Africa. I can put it down to a few things:

1.              You don’t have to be all that bright to drive a car.

Once you have a basic understanding of what the steering wheel is for and have learnt to change gear by the occasional use of the clutch, you are ready for the road. This can lead to erratic lane-changing, slow driving in the fast lane and occasional use of the verge.

2.       It is very easy to buy a licence without passing any form of test, as corruption is rife.

          This is self-explanatory. Obviously the person who has bought the licence then has no idea of what indicators are for, what the different colours on a traffic light mean, what a four-way stop implies or where you are allowed to stop, for instance to allow passengers to alight. The relevance of the imposition of various speed limits and the basic rule of only overtaking on the right are also outside the bounds of the known.

3.      Speed is just a number that appears on a speedometer.

         Little is understood about the effect of speed on braking distance, control of the vehicle in the event of a blowout or, more frequently, an axle snapping due to overloading. There is thus little forethought as drivers hurtle along at whatever speed takes their fancy, and anything that gets in the way is ridden over with impunity.

4.       There is little in the way of law enforcement due to apathy, poor pay and just plain fear.

          You are not likely to see a patrol vehicle chasing after an offender. You are likely to see it hidden in the bushes with a camera, taking photos of speedsters from the safety of a hiding place and sending fines out in the post, usually just before December to boost the party fund coffers.

Those who have come by the privilege of being allowed out in public behind the wheel of a vehicle by dint of swotting up the rules of the road and many lessons with a driving school have simply to watch all this happen and take the route of least resistance. It is best to never assume that a green light is a signal to go – look in all directions and let the maniacs go by on the way to their accident. Let them overtake at every opportunity – you only want to see the back number plate, not the front. Wherever possible, get a passenger to take a photo and post it on social media and send a copy to the traffic department – particularly those who park in disabled parking spots.

It doesn’t help to get upset – steer clear and make sure you get home safely. We can only hope that seated next to each of these fools is a woman giving him hell for reckless driving!