Driving me mad

Submitted by Charlotte Malgas

Every time I start thinking my family should remain in South Africa, I just have to go down the main road.

Coming from the United Kingdom — where taxi drivers do not shoot rivals and passengers over “who” a public highway belongs to, as they did in Durban recently — I find motorists’ attitudes and law enforcers’ passivity in this country absolutely jaw-dropping.

I have been in government-issued taxis where there are 18 passengers instead of 12, with the conductor squatting on the floor, and where I have paid to sit on a board between chairs, or to have other people sitting on me. We have driven between two lanes of traffic and sped through red lights.

My husband, who uses them to get to work, has been told to change vehicles in the middle of an intersection; has experienced taxis pretending to turn left to avoid a red light, before turning back out, blocking all traffic; and has been told he “belongs” to a taxi — which he left because it was not moving — whereupon no other driver would pick him up. Similarly, UCT was threatened into suspending part of their student shuttle service earlier this year because the route “belonged” to the taxi drivers. What are taxi drivers on about? The public pay for roads to be built out of their taxes — they are entitled to traverse them however they want!

The one time my husband’s taxi was stopped at a police road block, it transpired the driver only had a provisional licence. The policeman told him he must pass his test soon, and let him drive on. Congratulations, SAPS.

But the problem isn’t just taxi drivers. This ill-behaviour amongst motorists occurs irrespective of age, profession or gender.

When I cross at a pedestrian crossing, turning motorists hoot because I am blocking their way, despite the fact it is my green light and they are supposed to yield. This includes other mums from my toddler group, who wave as they drive through, leaving me stranded on the traffic island with a baby.

Stopping at red lights, drivers inevitably miss the white markings, skidding to a halt over the crossing. I thoroughly enjoy weaving the pram between vehicles before mounting the raised kerb metres away.

Even the pavement is challenging because people mistake it for extra parking. This forces me to push my daughter into the traffic. Lack of parking is no excuse — when you buy a house or visit the dentist, you know how much room there is for cars. Buy another house, rent a garage or park round the corner.

Driving is equally frustrating. Going to Hermanus this weekend, my husband was forced towards the hard shoulder several times to avoid causing an accident. Cars overtook him illegally, crossing solid white lines, but as he was driving at the speed limit they had no reason to overtake.

And South Africa’s fame is spreading. Earlier this year, one of our UK visitors told us: “My colleague said it’s OK to drive drunk in this country.” It seems to be true. My husband’s best friend was killed by a drunk driver last year. The driver was bailed, allowed to await trial in the UK and never returned.

There are so many ways that the government could address the problems caused by this multitude of inconsiderate motorists. For a start, South Africa needs a proper TV campaign, rather than Jeff Radebe’s current offerings: people wearing tomato ketchup being lifted from vehicles in accident simulations, bored young people listening to speakers, cyclists taking part in the Cape Argus on closed roads, and blatant promotions for brake and tyre companies. The only effective advert showed a young man’s friend taking his keys from him because he had drunk too much and the drunker one accepting it with grace. I have seen that advert once.

This is what I think South Africa could learn from other countries with a lower accident rate. In England, our adverts to campaign against drunken driving are hard-hitting. One showed a car load of young happy people driving along to an upbeat summer track, before the vehicle crashed, showing spread-eagled limbs against the windows. Another showed a beautiful woman in a bar suddenly being thrown back with a huge impact into a wall.

We have ubiquitous speed cameras that lead to a painful £50 fine (R750). Cameras could also be used at pedestrian crossings and on dangerous roads to catch other traffic violators. This would act as a deterrent and provide SAPS with revenue to employ more traffic officers.

England has traffic wardens who ticket cars, and we tow vehicles or clamp them when they are parked in the wrong place. In three years I have not seen a single traffic warden here. This policy could be used to create more jobs and lower unemployment.

To minimise taxi violence like we saw in Durban recently, SAPS should be arresting taxi drivers for every violation. With drivers in prison and with their companies fined every time, the companies would soon find it cheaper to employ safe and legal drivers. In addition, drivers should be paid a set wage, so they would have no interest in overcrowding their taxis.

Finally, the government should work with Metrorail and the bus companies to provide an efficient, public transport alternative which runs 24/7, as in London and New York. Then all South Africans could get home safely, drunk or not.

A former UK journalist, Charlotte Malgas is leaving South Africa at the end of the year to teach English in Mongolia, where the driving is equally dreadful but there are more yaks to contend with than cars.