LETTER: Motorists don’t follow the rules of the road anymore

Madam – This is an open letter to the Department of Transport, Newcastle Protection Services and RTI.

The laws of physics is a dictatorial set of rules and are closely followed by the law of averages. The former is predictable, the latter not so much. This is why we have a large set of road rules in South Africa.

Unfortunately, it seems the departments responsible for road safety are only out to collect revenue.

Recently the NN traffic department has been holding a road block on Kirkland street near the Ayliff intersection. Inspecting licenses and so forth. However they ignore the dangerous intersection of Bridger and Kirkland Streets where illegal signage and high grass on the verge make it impossible to see traffic when entering Kirkland Street.

Let’s not even mention people who park within the limited distance from an intersection, thus completely blocking visibility.

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Then there is this new habit of driving on the wrong side of the road. People pull out of a parking or driveway and drive down the wrong side of the road instead of waiting for traffic to clear. This is usually because people now park facing on coming traffic. Yet our departments do nothing about this dangerous and illegal habit that is now prevalent in not only Newcastle, but country wide.

Has the rules for the use of 4-way stops changed? It seems today that the person who stops first is ‘giving way’ for others crossing at the intersection. Traffic lights are short of being ignored and my faith in the respective agencies responsible for road safety is now non-existent.

Not Impressed

Response from the Editor:

The letter above was sent to the Newcastle Municipality Communications Department for comment. At the time of going to print, no response was received.

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