When stuck in traffic… just smile

FOR THE past two years I’ve been starting work at the crack of dawn, so I’ve been spared the barbaric behaviour that some Joburg motorists daily display on our roads.

It has been blissful – no traffic in the morning, no traffic in the afternoon, no road rage.

Then came Monday when I got stuck in 7am traffic. Two grown women were at each other’s throats, hurling profanities and flashing zap signs at each other.

Watching the two angry women took me back to a day last month when I was stuck in afternoon traffic on the M1 South.

Lost in my thoughts and becoming agitated, from the corner of my eye I noticed someone trying to catch my attention. In the lane to my right was a white German SUV. Seated at the back was a cheerful young woman who pressed a white paper with a smiley emoticon and the word “smile”, against the window of the car. I couldn’t help but laugh. She laughed and waved me goodbye.

Watching the two angry women on Monday, I wondered how their morning could have turned out had one of them simply apologised – or smiled.

Next time you’re stuck in traffic, take a deep breath, flash your pearly whites at the aggressor and wish them a good, joyous, productive day. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll be decent enough to drive away without subjecting other motorists to their drama or even blocking the already congested road.