South Africans on road without laws

In a country where euphemisms and doublespeak are becoming a national trait – think “challenges” and “firepool” (both brought to you by the ANC) – it is refreshing to listen to someone calling a spade a spade… and even more so when such forthright comments relate to the ongoing emergency which is SA’s appalling road safety situation.

Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) CEO Bobby Ramagwede was spot-on with his assessment of why we had an unprecedented display of lawlessness yesterday on the N1 South highways as thousands of people headed back to Gauteng from the Easter weekend in Limpopo.

Breaking the law to save time

Determined to save time and jump the queues, they occupied, at times, all four lanes of the highway, on occasion forcing oncoming traffic heading north to use the emergency lanes to pass.

Ramagwede says when there is no visible policing or law enforcement, people will do what they want. “South Africans are very simple creatures to manage, the more presence they see the more they abide by the laws.”

Ramagwede said he counted 10 Joburg Metro Police Department vehicles in one spot over the weekend. “You only need two vehicles there, what are the rest of the vehicles doing there?” he added.

N1 chaos is a mirror of SA society

Again, he pointed to the sound-bite PR stunts performed every holiday by our great and good officials, who “stand at roadblocks and kiss babies” while “drawing resources away from the field”.

The N1 chaos is a mirror of SA society: crime is rampant, because ordinary citizens see there are few consequences for breaking the law. And it shows we are selfish and that, as long as “we got ours”, then “to hell with everyone else”.

Most worrying, though, is the failure to realise the personal impact of your actions. In this case, driving into oncoming traffic could get you, your family and innocent road users, killed.

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