On a road to nowhere?

Or can South Africa’s dangerous driving problems be solved? A criminologist weighs in

- WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE [e-mail]

IF YOU have ever been in a car in South Africa you would have recognised the potential for unlawful surroundings or potholed roads, but the complete lack of adherence to the rules of the road and outright carnage. It seems that once we get behind the wheel of a car, the laws are irrelevant.

Alcohol-related deaths

While on holiday in the Northern Cape over the festive season, I would regularly stop next to the road at the rather dilapidated picnic spots to stretch our legs.

The profusion of empty liquor bottles was appalling. Empty beer, wine and hard liquor containers were spread everywhere.

That means that the possibility of encountering a driver under the influence was reasonably high, putting every other road user, including families, possibly even their own, in mortal danger.

It’s no surprise that South Africa has the highest rate of alcohol-related deaths, at 57.5%. Why, I ask myself?

But recently, in Cape Town, an alleged drunken driver was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol after hitting two runners on Victoria Road in Bantry Bay. Both runners were flung over the wall on the side of the road, leading to a rescue operation, and is in a critical condition.

Meanwhile, while driving from the Sandton CBD to Pretoria during traffic recently, I enjoyed counting the number of infringements.

Ignoring red lights, stop signs and pedestrian crossings seemed to be the order of the day.