Don’t drive like an idiot
Phumelele P Hlati
Easter Weekends are occasions that should bring people together, bring enjoyment for those who take their Christianity seriously, and those who love their sport.
As from today, people will be criss-crossing the country on their way to sporting events, while Christian believers will be doing the same to attend special Easter weekend church services.
Of course, there will be those going away on holiday somewhere, while the fun crowd will party as if there is no tomorrow.
Precisely because there will be so many people on the roads at the same time, the same old problem of road accidents will rear its ugly head, once again.
The awful spectre of people never arriving at their destinations because of accidents is a perennial problem that the traffic departments all over the country have been grappling with since the time cars were brought to these shores.
We have a longestablished campaign, Arrive Alive, which has had some measure of success throughout the years but still the death and injury numbers are too high.
We should always aim for zero fatalities on the road because being on the road should not be akin to playing Russian roulette.
We all know the slogans and the rules we should follow to reduce this ugly aspect of our holiday season but there are still those who will drive a car without a licence, or drive an unroadworthy car, or an overloaded car, or drive at inappropriate speeds, or not rest adequately between or during trips.
While there will be full deployment of traffic officers and other law enforcement agencies, this can never be enough to cover every inch of our roads.
It all lies with individual drivers who should obey the laws of the road and be extra vigilant. While law enforcement agencies can, to an extent, police the speed at which people drive, and check for unroadworthy and overloaded vehicles, they cannot police driver behaviour overall.
Most accidents are caused by driver error, especially with head-on collisions.
Drivers are in too much of a hurry, driving too fast and overtaking on steep inclines and on blind curves, which lead to many of these deadly head-on collisions.
It is sad when we have to go to a funeral after Easter because some idiot somewhere did something daft, leading to fatalities.
A drive in your car or public transport should not be like going to war where we understand that some will not come back alive.
Check the condition of your car and make sure everything is how it is supposed to be.
If not, consider cancelling your trip if you cannot get it fixed in time.
Drive during the daytime as much as possible and take rest stops every two hours, or alternate drivers.
Do we even have to tell you not to drink and drive? This should be standard practice by now don’t be an idiot. Don’t drive like a suicidal maniac.
Respect the rules of the road at all times. Only through this change in behaviour will we Arrive Alive and enjoy our Easter weekend.
Happy Easter to all of you, see you on Tuesday, nice and healthy and not hung over.