Make sure you get your passengers safety to their destinations with a few road safety tips:
- Load-shedding is forecast for the weekend, so you’ll probably come across a few dead traffic lights. Remember that those intersections should be four-way stops and take care to wait your turn.
- Make sure your tyres have sufficient tread, otherwise you may just get a fine. According to law, the tread needs to be a minimum of 1.6mm. Tyre companies and road safety organisations recommend that you change your tyres when the tread is down to 3mm. Smooth tyres decrease your braking efficiency and can cause your car to slide on wet roads.
- Remember to check your water and oil and keep a bottle of water and an extra container of oil in your car in case the vehicle overheats or is known to guzzle oil.
- Check your brakes and brake fluid! There is nothing worse that realising your brakes aren’t working or less efficient when you’re on a mountain pass or in peak traffic in an unfamiliar area.
- Regularly check your mirrors, especially in densely populated areas. Vehicles like trucks and taxis often don’t use their indicators when turning or try to pass you on dangerous stretches of road. Try to anticipate their next move and keep a safe following distance.
- If you drive according to a GPS, make sure it is taking you to the right destination and avoiding dangerous areas. In rural areas, GPS maps are not always correct and can leave you stranded kilometers from the correct destination. Use a map or directions from locals or your hotel/guest house as a secondary source to plan your route.
- Always lock your vehicle’s doors as soon as you get in the car and only open windows at a small gap (if necessary). This ensures that criminals won’t be able to pull you out of the vehicle or grab valuable items without smashing the window. For added precautions, get your windows coated with smash-and-grab coating to avoid windows splintering, injuring you and inhibiting criminals’ access to your vehicle.
- There is a large number of traffic officials on the roads during long weekends. Keep to the speed limit and ensure that all your outstanding fines are paid to avoid any roadside altercations or inconveniences.
- Pay attention to signage like stop-and-go and roadmarking-in-progress as these indicate obstacles ahead. Slow down to avoid accidents involving other vehicles, construction vehicles and road workers.
- Be wary of pedestrians or animals indiscriminately crossing the road or walking in the road in heavily populated areas. Switch on your vehicle’s lights as soon as twilight falls to help you spot them in time.
Make sure to stop regularly (every two hours or 200km) and visit interesting roadside stalls and sights. Enjoy your travels!
At Caxton, every story is written by humans. We use AI only to perform quality checks - never to generate the news. Happy reading!
