I saw a man very nearly killed last week.

Early in the morning, driving from Ballito to Salt Rock, I was on the slip road that passes under the Ballito N2 bridge and joins the N2 at Rivers Church.

Two taxis ahead of me were side by side, racing for the N2 as though their lives depended on it. Where the two lanes narrow to one, a third taxi flew past me and tried to pass them both!

A pedestrian was walking along the side of the road, trying to cross the highway. He looked up and got the fright of his life: three taxis abreast, thundering towards him.

The man had the reflexes of a cat. With a split-second to spare, he jumped towards the highway and out of their path. Luckily, there was no traffic on the highway itself, or he could have been roadkill.

I can’t stop thinking about the poor fellow. I’m sure he’s reliving that terrifying moment in his nightmares.
I also keep asking myself what is wrong with our society that we tolerate such appalling behaviour on our roads? Taxi drivers and private motorists alike drive like hooligans. The expression ‘He ignored me like a stop sign’ is real. Where are the cops? Where is our sense of responsibility? Where are the consequences for ignoring the law?

When we were kids, we rode our bikes everywhere, day and night. I grew up on the north side of Pietermaritzburg, halfway up the World’s View mountain. I often rode the 10km into town to school at Merchiston and later 13km to Scottsville for high school. It was no big deal and my parents were comfortable with it.

Today I rarely see kids riding bikes. Maybe on quiet side roads and in parks, but not on roads like Ballito Drive or Salt Rock Road.

Parents tell me there’s no way they will allow their children to ride to the beach or around the village. It’s too damned dangerous! Reckless driving is not just an irritation; it is destroying public safety and shrinking everyday freedoms.

With elections coming up, all you hear is yadda yadda about illegal migration, xenophobia, crime and corruption in high places, as though high-level politics is all our lives are about. Important to fix, yes, but you don’t fix the big things without fixing the basics: water, electricity and roads. You can’t build a house if the foundations are crumbling beneath you. The big things that go wrong nationally – jobs, crime, migration and food production – invariably flow from not paying attention to detail.

I believe a lack of attention to road conditions and traffic control is ruining our lives. The roads are in a terrible state. Road planning is 10 years behind. Policing is so thin on the ground that it’s invisible. Motorists ignore the law at will.

So what can be done? Politicians shrug and say there’s no money. But they can find money for upmarket cars, parties and overseas trips.

We need to realign our priorities. In the 1990s, New York City achieved a significant reduction in crime while pursuing the ‘broken windows’ approach.

The idea was that if a broken window is left unrepaired, it signals that no one cares and encourages further disorder.

Authorities targeted minor offences such as vandalism, loitering and public drinking to create a greater sense of order and lawfulness.

Here in South Africa, and particularly on the Dolphin Coast, we need to focus on our own broken windows. In this case, they are our roads and the way people drive on them. They are part of our daily lives and are not going away.

Restoring order on our roads would be a practical place to begin rebuilding public confidence. Repair dangerous sections, improve planning, enforce the rules consistently and make reckless driving socially unacceptable.

Success should be measured not only by fewer crashes, but by the return of ordinary freedoms – including the day when parents can once again allow their children to ride their bicycles in the village without fear.