As you drive along Kagiso Avenue, a long street better known to old Kagiso residents as Big Street, expect to stumble across a speed hump that resemble approximate height of a normal queen bed.
Just as you think you’ve executed a task of manoeuvring your way across, ahead there is a road sign that warns; “speed hump ahead” slows your roll. Your ordeal driving over these undulations goes on and on in this busiest street. Our local government deserve a well congratulation for swiftly responding to the needs of our “Hush” people – almost every street in Kagiso has a rounded traffic calming bulge ideally erected to reduce vehicle speed. Now, our pedestrians in Kagiso are all safe and sound.
However, fellow residents, a member of your family suddenly is struck by a critical health condition and seeks urgent attention of the emergency vehicles. Response time has slowed by 10 seconds per hump for ambulances, let alone 3 – 5 seconds for fire trucks. The innocent life of a loved one hangs over the blues of many speed humps that Kagiso sits on. What do you do?
I am thinking! This should serve as a reminder that there are many other considerate measures that can reduce speed in our roads, starting from the attitudes of our drivers, to the traffic cameras that can be erected to monitor bad driving. Please no more humps.
* Letter published unedited — Ed.
