There is no doubt about it. The roads in the Western Cape are the best in the country. A local road trip was like a dream, with smooth surfaces, freshly painted road markings, sufficiently wide shoulders to allow pulling over for overtaking and, believe it or not, a very visible police and traffic officer presence all along the route. The use of average-speed camera monitoring means that we are no longer taken unawares by the camera being operated by a speed cop hiding in the bushes, and we have only ourselves to blame for being trapped by the camera at the end of a long stretch of monitoring. This also seems to have had the desired effect of reining in the hooligan drivers, as there is no escape for them now, which makes the rest of us feel safer on the road.
Despite huge numbers of heavy-duty vehicles, many with double trailers, sandwiching me in my little half-a-loaf-of bread (a very apt description under the circumstances), I didn't feel intimidated or unsafe, as these behemoths are driven by very skilled people, it would appear, and they keep their vehicles well under control. Not to say that this is always the case, as shortly after I got home, I heard that a truck had lost its load on the N1, causing huge tailbacks, so I was lucky in that respect. But on the whole, a great job well done.
Although ongoing roadworks for the last few years have caused inconvenience and delays for commuters, we have got used to adding another 20-30 minutes onto a trip, and must remain grateful that these roadworks are even happening. Other parts of the country have roads that are so badly maintained that you have to have special tyres that cope with all road hazards without deflating.
I'm just hoping I calculated my speed correctly in the monitoring areas. I will only know when nothing arrives in the post!
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