Potholes: The solution to our speeding problem

I think I may have come up with a solution to South Africa’s endemic speeding problem. It’s not billboards reminding the poephol in the Porsche screaming by at 190kmh that speed kills. It’s not speed cameras, or Metro Cops sleeping next to the road at regular intervals. No, the solution is much, much simpler.

All the authorities need to do in order to ensure responsible driving behaviour is leave the roads unmaintained long enough for potholes to develop, and they need never worry about law enforcement again.*

For instance, this weekend, while returning from ten blissful days in the bush, I found myself leading a long and snaking convoy of vehicles at speeds of between 60-90kmh on a road with a 120kmh speed limit for a distance of well over 100km (after the caravan moved over into the yellow line and I passed the fart in the Honda Jazz). Nobody — with the exception of a couple of dooses in bakkies and SUVs — attempted to overtake. Nobody drove up anybody else’s backside. Everybody drove with lights on. Motorists were patient and considerate, and paid careful attention to the road ahead.

In short, they were everything that South African drivers typically are not.

Why? Because the R40 between Hoedspruit (now known as Maruleng) and Belfast is so potholed that in parts it barely qualifies as a road at all. You’re forced to slow down because you never know whether that patch on the road ahead will reveal red soil beneath the tar. You cannot risk overtaking because of the risk of potholes on the other side of the road. Simply put, you have no option but to crawl from the Lowveld all the way up to the N3.

The R40 has been in a parlous state for years now. Potholes are repaired, only to open up again almost immediately. The worst damage extends across the entire road, and the potential for a nasty accident is obvious, especially if a vehicle travelling at 120kmh should suddenly hit dirt, or swerve to avoid it. It’s also an extremely stressful drive, because most of the holes are not visible until the last moment, and you cannot afford to relax, ever. Driving this route at night is not recommended.

All of this is somewhat mystifying, because the R40 is one of the major routes into the Lowveld and several major tourist attractions, including Pilgrim’s Rest, the Blyde Canyon, the Kruger Park and many private game lodges. Perhaps it’s all a scheme to prevent the area from being overpopulated by British soccer fans come June 2010.

There was one positive moment in all of this. Just outside Dullstroom, the road was pothole-free long enough for me to increase my speed to 120kmh while, conversely, the limit was reduced to 100. Naturally, there were cops waiting for me, and I was pulled over. I lowered my window and sheepishly awaited the issuing of a fine.

The officer and I exchanged polite greetings. I admitted that I was aware that the speed limit was reduced, and that I knew I was speeding. “Please don’t speed,” he said. “Have a Happy New Year.” And he waved me off. I was astonished. He was polite and courteous, and he didn’t solicit a bribe.

Maybe if more traffic officers were like him, our appalling road death rate would be reduced. Or maybe not, but it would make the schlep of driving back after a holiday less likely to undo all that lovely relaxation.

* Not that the authorities generally worry about law enforcement, since speed trapping is largely a revenue-generating mechanism, but for the purposes of this argument I will assume that they do care, just a little.