Check warnings before travelling

With the cost of fuel lately, it is essential to plan your route according to the weather and more especially the wind.

On long trips this can cost you a good few cents, unless you are a speed freak with a big back pocket.

By the time of publication, I will be en route home from an international conference I would have presented at in Paarl, on which I will report later.

Seeing I am in the area, I will be doing a bit of sightseeing, as I have never been to the winelands and west coast.

We would have ticked at least one thing off our bucket list on this trip: Fish and chips on the beach at Paternoster, with our feet in the sand.

I just don’t know if I will be able to smuggle some bokkems from Velddrif, as my wife has warned that I might be walking home with my bokkems in hand.

As most of us are on a tight budget, I started calculating the cost of our journey which will amount to about a 2,000km round-trip.

A saving of 2km/l can equate to at least one night’s accommodation at a self-catering unit.

Considering that I travel like Driving Miss Daisy because I believe the journey to get there is more important than just reaching the destination in record time, I am sure I will save those 2km/l.

Besides, you see a lot more and the fuel saving is a bonus, not to mention the safety factor.

Travelling to Cape Town via the N2 with a blasting westerly from the front increases consumption drastically.

The opposite is true when returning to the Bay.

If a strong westerly is forecast, delay your journey for a few hours or day, leave earlier or take an alternative route.

I always prefer the more scenic Langkloof/R62 as the wind is often a lot less than that on the N2.

The other important factor about planning your route according to the weather was highlighted in last week’s column.

Let me remind you of the chaos on the bridge on the Du Toitskloof Pass after the Huguenot tunnel, where that trailer and caravan were blown off.

We also noted numerous postings on social media about flooding in KZN and Gauteng, with numerous vehicles being overcome by flood waters.

Though that is fresh in the memory, every winter we see numerous vehicles stuck in the snow on the various mountain passes throughout the county.

It seems to me that logistic managers or drivers do not take note of weather forecasts and more especially warnings.

Whether it is ignorance or they merely do not believe the forecast, it ends in disaster.

This is mind-boggling as it does not only put them in danger, but also other road users.

Combined dam levels:

Algoa System: Up from 69.03% to 71.20%

This week in history:

1948: Floods in East London.

1971: Floods in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha).

Weather safety tips:

When attempting to cross a low-water bridge in a vehicle, remember the saying: If you cannot walk it, don’t ride it.

However don’t even attempt to walk it if you don’t see the row of cement markers sticking out.