On the 30th of December I drove on the eerily quiet N1. It wasn't an easy drive since I started off at around 18:45, and was feeling sick and fatigued before I'd even left the outskirts of Bloemfontein.
Right now the Free State has some of the lowest statistics for road deaths in the country, but across the border in Gauteng, the most people have died, with KwaZulu Natal trailing close behind.
If you are driving on the N1 to Joburg from the Free State, I have 3 suggestions.
1) Stop at the Total Garage at Ventersburg (conveniently on the left side of the highway). If it's getting late, eat something at the Steers there, and have a Red Bull. The Total garage is fairly new, and is actually a great complex in an otherwise grotty location. While I recharged there, a small group of locals dressed in skins etc. danced and sang.
2) Beware of a nasty dip in the road about 5-10km outside Kroonstad on the Ventersburg side. Whether you're travelling at 120 or 160km/h your car almost connects to the tar. If your shocks aren't working too well, you might be in for a nasty suprise. Vehicles who have just overtaken and increased speed may be especially at risk on this section of tar.
3) On the evening of the 30th the N1 was quiet. Even so, I saw at least one vehicle lying on its back on the apparently safe section halfway between Kroonstad and Joburg. The deep ruts in the road beside the yellow and white lines are both good and bad. Good because they persuade drivers to wait for thoe double lane sections to overtake, but bad, because if you're driving in a dwaal, with a few fingers on the steering wheel, and you drift over these sections, you can potentially lose control of your vehicle. For this section you need both hands firmly on the wheel. This piece was potentially the most hazardous section for precisely this reason.
Safe driving and remember, while your taking a risk might pay off more often than not, the danger is you and someone else taking a risk at the same time on the road (for example on the same blind rise). In these circumstances, the odds are against you. It's not worth it. Exercise patience, and enjoy the drive, rather than turning it into a race or a test of how efficiently you can get from A to B. It is far more important that you get to B, however long it takes.
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