Rage against the machine
The first quarter of 2008 is going to go down in history as one of the toughest ever faced by the South African consumer. On top of the decline in disposable income caused by a series of interest rate hikes we’re also at the mercy of international food an
Road rage – a consequence of frustration
The next time you’re on any of the country’s roads spend some time watching your fellow road users. Notice the number of drivers clinging to their steering wheels with white knuckles prominently displayed. Look at the angry expressions and gestures that follow each illegal driving manoeuvre. And watch how the little niggles that trouble each and every one of us manifest in instances of road rage. We’ve witnessed a number of events in recent days, from the mostly harmless headlight flashing, horn blowing and finger gestures to the more serious intentional obstructions and worse.
Let’s look at just two road rage incidents reported in and around the Pretoria area in recent weeks. The accounts are based on eye-witness reports so are probably filled with inaccuracies… But we’re less concerned with assigning blame than we are with the consequences. Each incident shows just how far we’re prepared to go to defend what we regard as our ‘private’ space when we use the country’s roads. The first case involves a husband (driver) and wife who incurred the wrath of another motorist after the husband ‘flashed’ that vehicle. When they stopped their car at the next traffic intersection the enraged motorist fired several shots at them with a pepper-spray gun before speeding off. The wife had to be taken to hospital suffering with breathing difficulties.
Physical assaults getting out of hand
In a separate incident involved the driver of a motor car and a taxi. The taxi driver allegedly blocked a private vehicle and an altercation ensued – first with the vehicle’s driver and then the passenger too. The taxi driver was pushed into oncoming traffic and seriously injured as a result. The driver subsequently reported to a police station.
But things can get a lot worse with road rage often ending in death… “A 40-year-old man was shot and killed during a road rage incident on Friday in Montclair, Durban” reported IOL recently. The report is short and sweet – road rage is, after all, commonplace in our country. One of the alarming side-effects of all this traffic craziness is that race is often brought into the mix. It’s difficult to draw that conclusion; but if we look at daily news events from our struggling democracy there’s no doubt that sour race relations contribute to overall frustration levels… Clearly we’ve got a great deal to think about.
No respect for traffic rules
By far the biggest reason for road rage in our view is the blatant disregard for traffic laws. People drive too fast or too slow. They turn where they shouldn’t and don’t turn where they should. They treat stop streets like yield signs and yield signs like stop streets… It’s like none of us read the K53 manual that provides the guidelines for behaviour on the country’s roads. Perhaps the single biggest threat to road users today is motorist’s behaviour at traffic intersections.
The law of the road is fairly simple. You’re supposed to ‘go’ when the light is green, and stop when it’s red. The yellow light, contrary to popular belief, should be treated as a red light by drivers approaching the intersection. Unless your vehicle is blocking the intersection you are supposed to stop on yellow. We’ll repeat this because it’s quite important: the yellow light allows vehicles that have already entered an intersection under green to clear the intersection. Unfortunately local motorists use the yellow light as ‘go like hell’ indicator. And the result is that more and more vehicles are flagrantly cannoning through red lights. Apart from the increase in serious collisions at intersections other drivers have to wait through the first phase of their green light before the intersection clears…
A car is a dangerous weapon. Next time you buckle-up and start you engine take some time to reflect on the importance of observing basic road etiquette. Take a deep breath – obey the rules – and try your best to ignore the craziness of the people sharing the road with you.
Editor’s thoughts:
You don’t have to spend too much time on the country’s road network to witness the anger and frustration of our drivers. Everyone’s in such a rush to get where they are going that they blatantly disregard almost every traffic law in the book. The real worry is that we’re talking about EVEYRONE! Is South Africa sliding toward total anarchy? Add your comments below, or send them to gareth@fanews.co.za
