IT’S simple guys.
When the traffic lights are on the blink (as they often are at the dreaded Oribi Plaza intersection) this is the rule of thumb:
Treat it as a ‘four-way stop’.
Now, to make it even simpler (just in case you are confused about the latter):
1 When you approach a non-functioning traffic light… STOP!
2 Wait your turn if cars are already crossing over from your left or right;
3 Now, if everyone plays the game, the vehicles behind the latter (that have crossed over) should also… STOP!
4 Then it’s your turn to… GO!
(However, squint your eyeballs simultaneously left and right as there are queue jumpers aplenty. Stop, flash your lights, shake your fist and hope he or she doesn’t come after you with a baseball bat.)
4 Facing cars should try their best to GO together. Unless you are driving like an American (on the wrong side of the road), you should be in no danger of hitting the oncoming vehicle.
(But don’t take this for granted either. Many people on the South Coast don’t know their left from their right.)
5 Here’s the tricky bit: When it comes to oncoming cars that indicate they are turning left or right, they fall into the same turn to… GO!
6 Motorists travelling from the other end of the cross section should hang back for those cars that were coming from their left and right and are now turning across the lanes. (Read that sentence three times.)
7 If there’s a pedestrian in the way, just hoot. (Only joking. Obviously pedestrians have right of way under all circumstances as they don’t have the luxury of a full metal jacket.)
And so the traffic flows… orderly, fairly quickly and without any accidents.
Johannesburg drivers know this out of necessity as there would be total gridlock if they didn’t abide by these simple rules.
Alas, going by the chaos at Oribi this week, Port Shepstone drivers think they have the right of way no matter what. He who’s fastest, biggest, boldest, cheekiest goes first.
Of course, all the above goes out of the window if there is a taxi approaching from any direction.
Just hold back, well out of the way. Don’t hoot or flash your lights and pretend all is well with the world. Wait until the vehicle has disappeared out of sight as we all know: “Taxis are kings of the road!”
DID YOU KNOW?
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