Lack of enforcement turns roads into a jungle

I WAS driving home the other day when I realised that I had become as bad a driver as those I’ve often complained about.

The lines on the roads are hardly visible; sometimes they are not there at all. You just drive as close to the verge as you can, making sure that you are not in the taxi lane.

Every third or fourth robot is out of order and because there is no traffic officer in control we, the drivers, have to make our own rules and cross over to the other side when we think it is safe.

On my regular route, an additional lane has been established on the left and minibus taxis and private cars whoosh past, but I do not have the guts to join them.

We lose time and patience due to faulty traffic lights, so when we come across one that works, we follow the two or three cars that cross while it’s red to make up for lost time. Why not?

We do not look at the lights in front of us: we look at the light on our left or on our right and cross while it is still red for the drivers on the side.

Sometimes, when I feel I have to be an example to the other drivers, I slow down when the lights are turning amber, but the driver behind me often “pushes” me and I eventually have to go through the red light.

I have joined the average driver, making up rules as the situation demands.

I then wonder whether the real rules have been abolished because there is no way that they can be enforced. Are there any rules or not?

Traffic lights are often out of order. Drivers overtake on the left. No lines on the road.

Taxis cut across from the far left to the far right on six-lane roads. No control, no policemen, no civility.

I once encountered a traffic officer who had signalled me to stop. He said: “You went through a red light, sir. Must I give you a ticket?”.

I was utterly confused. Does he not know the rules?

“You have to do what you have to do, officer,” I said.

If he did not know whether or not he had to give me a ticket for going through a red traffic light, how on earth would I know?

Perhaps the rules have changed since I obtained my driving licence in 1970.

He told me that the minimum fine was R500. “Must I give you a ticket?” he asked.

Here we go again. Since neither one of us was sure about whether I should be fined or not, I told him that the best thing would be to leave the matter for a judge to decide.

He looked at me with anger and hatred and waved me on.

I left that bewildered cop behind me thinking that we both lived to cheat another day. Mariano Castrillón

Maybe rules have changed since I got my licence