Traffic lawlessness in Alberton
Has Alberton, the place where I grew up just become another lawless place?
In lieu of the article about EMPD, in the Alberton Record of December 7, I would like to give my two cents.
I am from Pietermaritzburg and have now been in Alberton for 12 weeks.
It is absolutely scary to see how people in Alberton violate traffic rules and it seems like nothing gets done about it. Drivers drive any way they want to. I’ve heard that they blame the taxis. I can tell you that the drivers of all other vehicles are more guilty.
I’ve driven in Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein and many other places in South Africa and have never experienced anything like this.
I have noticed that in Alberton a stop is only a yield sign, red traffic lights are treated as a stop and if the power is off, a dead traffic light does not exist. When you stop at a stop sign you must be more worried about the vehicle behind you than anything else, you can’t dare take your eyes off the rearview mirror. I don’t even want to mention that people have no idea (or regard) of how to use a four-way stop or a circle.
In all my travels I have not once seen a member of the EMPD doing any duty or acting on a traffic violation.
Who is to blame for this? Is it EMPD or has Alberton, the place where I grew up (and left many years ago), just become another lawless place?
Dirk Lourens – Concerned motorist
