Rules of the road flaunted

IWRITE to express my frustration with the declining behaviour of drivers and declining driving standards in East London’s Central Business District.

Every time you go to town, you are a witness to near accidents and angry gestures being exchanged between angry drivers. Blaring hooters, obscene gestures and bad language between drivers of different age groups 365 days with no end in sight.

Championing the rot are the drivers of the taxing private cars known in the city as “amaphela”.

There is nothing wrong when people are doing something to extricate themselves from poverty caused largely by unemployment in the city. Amaphela also contribute to the economy of this region through purchasing petrol and car parts.

What is wrong though is the attitude of the drivers who break every rule of the road with impunity. Who behave as if they have a special licence exempting them from the road rules that have to be obeyed by every driver using our roads.

An example of the bad driving we have become victims of is the new tendency of drivers who take a right turn when going up or down Oxford Street even at undesignated places. This means that a car driving in the fast lane could be forced to come to a sudden stop in the middle of the road because the driver in front has decided to take a right turn at an undesignated place.

There are also those who run on the shoulders of the road and block the progress of other vehicles.

Although traffic officers are doing their work, they are not visible on a daily basis. You see them mostly when there is a meeting of government officials or during the festive season. I write to appeal to those in authority to rise to this challenge. — Mzwandile Ngcivana, via e-mail