MIC’S MEMOS

He has noticed a high instance of intimidation towards women drivers in smaller cars, especially by men in big 4x4s, says Mic van Zyl.

There is a certain element of satisfaction driving a big, tall 4x4 in traffic. There is a lot of metal around you for protection. Those big 33” tyres, 2” suspension lift and bullbar certainly lend an air of invincibility. Add to this that 300 W LED light bar to scare off anybody who dares pull into the gap in front of you. I witnessed some truly shocking behaviour recently from a fellow Ford Ranger driver in traffic. Shocking! The male driver used his truck to intimidate a young mom with her kiddies driving a small hatchback on their way to school. Traffic was its usual horrible self and the lady had to get across three lanes to make a turn at a very poorly designed intersection. She was indicating and politely requesting a gap. The fool in the double cab was being an absolute idiot. He forced his way in front of her to ensure that he could get through first ahead of the mom and her kids in their little car. He had to go over the pavement with his left-hand wheels and caused quite a commotion. Well done buddy! You won that one! You’re a hero to many, I’m sure. AS HE WAS heading in the same direction as me, I had the opportunity to witness his terrible road manners for a while longer. A couple of kilometres up the road at another intersection, this road warrior had another chance to show off his superiority by tangling with a taxi. Again he proceeded to enforce his dominance using the pavement and some wheel spin and ultimately won the battle, although judging by the smile and shaking of the taxi drivers head, I wonder who truly won that one. After this altercation I noticed that this clown had his wife and kiddies in the bakkie with him. I immediately got quite upset and just as quickly calmed down when I thought of my own wife and son. I cannot fathom why someone would put their own lives at risk, never mind those of their family or of other road users. It is a little-known fact that SA has one of the highest instances of road rage in the world, almost as bad as Russia. Go check it out on YouTube. I do a lot of mileage and I have seen a lot of road rage. Strangely enough, I have never witnessed female road rage. I HAVE NOTICED a high instance of intimidation towards women drivers in smaller cars, especially by men in big 4x4s. It’s unbelievable! It’s quite obvious you have the bigger vehicle. Everybody can see this. Surely there’s no need to emphasise the point by behaving rudely. Take it from me: If you want to impress the good-looking girl in the little car, give her a smile and wave her into the gap ahead of you. If it’s a mom with her kiddies on the way to school, do you really want the kids to be late because of your ego? I employ around 400 people who rely on taxis to get to where they’re going. Yes, I know taxis drive badly, push in anywhere and drive up the wrong side of the road, and it is infuriating. But spare a thought for the people who have no other choice but to take a taxi to get to work and back home again while you sit in your luxury 4x4 truck sipping on your latté and listening to Apple Music. You have the ultimate power to be courteous and it doesn’t cost a thing.

After the second altercation, I noticed that this motorist had his wife and children in the vehicle with him.