The dangers of our big-car addiction won’t make them disappear

South Africa must have some of the world’s worst car accidents. That people regularly have to travel long distances, the type of vehicles so many are forced to use and then, on top of this, the incredibly bad driving just add to the worst kind of cocktail.

- Stephen Grootes

Very few stories I have covered have affected me as much as what happened to a poor family in Limpopo last week. When a woman heard her husband had been killed on the N1 near Bela-Bela, she rushed across the road, her baby strapped to her back. Then the VIP cavalcade carrying Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi ploughed into her, killing them both instantly.

I have no idea if there was any wrongdoing or how fast that car was going. But, having argued with Motsoaledi about many things for many years, I am certain he would have been deeply affected by this on a personal level. Unlike many other people who occupy high office, he is connected to the people he is trying to serve.