Joburg Drivers: KOOO KOOOOO

On the way to work each day I see a lot of cars in Joburg that are scratched, bumpers dinged, indicator lights gauged out. Check it out the next time you're in traffic. It's not surprising when you see how nuts Joburg's drivers are. You'd swear there is a pregnant woman, or someone bleeding to death, racing towards an emergency the way the GP number plates make desperate dives and dashes in and out of traffic flow. You've got to wonder: is that ego boost really worth paying R1000 excess in an insurance claim, and the bother that's involved? Is it worth risking life and limb - yours or worse, someone elses? If you think so you're a bozo.

Ego of course plays an important - if stupid - role on our roads. It's the young and dumb that wind up dead. The guy with the biggest ego on the road is most likely to find himself (usually it's a him) on his back, one of 12 000 a year, in the countries' morgue. Tens of thousands more survive, with injuries that stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Today a big Toyota 4x4 revved grandly and impatiently, just missing my rear bumper, skidding by my passenger door mirror, and doing a really impressive dive back into the traffic stream two vehicles ahead of me. Great move man! Except the same vehicle remained 5 metres ahead of me all the way up Glenhove until he turned right, into Rosebank Mall's parking lot. I'm sure it was really worth the impressive manoeuvres to get to the parking lot - I know - a very urgent appointment to shop, 5 seconds at most, faster than you would have gotten there.

The only accident I have been in so far was in Johannesburg. An impatient driver in peak hour decided to turn in front of the the bakkie I was in. We were only going 60 or so km per hour, and the idiot who turned was hardly going 15km/h. I got a diced up knee as a result, 13 deep mattress stitched. The car was a right off, and the idiot who turned in front of us just got tired of waiting at the traffic light, and seeing the light going amber took a chance.

Yesterday the paper had a report of carnage outside Harrismith. Bodies flying out of bakkies. Not sure if the need for speed is rational guys. Is it worth dying because you want to go a little bit faster. End of the day, you just get stuck behind another car. Catch a wake up. Be patient, just like everyone else. Or do the ego thing, win a few brownie points, call your insurer and start booking yourself in the morgue.

Cycling and Decency (D)

On 94.7 recently, a guy was talking to Kingsley Hollgate, and saying that he once stayed in an isolated cabin in Alaska. He was talking about the fact that whether in Africa or anywhere else, the greatest danger you can face is not from bad weather, or snakes, or bears, lions or any other wild animal. The greatest danger by far, that a person can face, is from other human beings. He said he was in a very isolated area in Alaska and became a aware that a man was approaching the cabin. He was 74 miles away from anywhere, and he was shitting himself because he had no idea what this person was doing there. It was in that moment that he realized once again, that a man in terms of another man can be an incredibly deadly and dangerous predator.

Invisible

It’s possible to get through a day in Western society without being polite, without showing manners, without any involvement with fellow human beings. You can be busy behind a computer. You might get away with not even saying a word to someone during the day at the office. There are few tricks that are new to people; few things that still surprise.

Information

It has been said that 7 volumes of the New York Times has more information than people living a few hundred years ago would learn in their entire lifetimes. And we naturally are a party to a great deal more information.

Cycling

But cycling is a sport where decency is a requirement. You can not hope to remain invisible, or to ignore information. You have to remain alert, and involved, and in the loop. Hand signals demonstrate where objects are, voice prompts too. It is a dangerous sport, even though on the face of it it may seem particularly monotonous, even boring. Traveling at high speeds means the more eyes scanning the road for hazards (holes, glass, rocks etc) the better the chances the whole group will finish the journey. It’s a co-operative allegiance that helps all. It’s sensible, logical and practical.

Read: The Best Drivers Are Also Cyclists

So being a cyclist, I found myself in a bizarre parallel universe whilst stuck in a traffic jam. I noticed a bubble in the rear left tyre of a gold BMW sparkling in the early morning sun. The vehicle was moving slowly forward, and I felt an imperative to communicate the danger to the driver. If I didn’t, and the vehicle picked up speed later that day, and the tyre burst, it would have been in my power to have prevented it.

But:
- how would he react to a person suddenly appearing at his window, having emerged from a vehicle behind him
- how would I communicate to him without obstructing traffic behind me.

Finally, noticing a traffic light ahead had turned read, and all vehicles had completed their accordion movements, I quickly approached the driver.
I lifted my fingertips to the pane of glass, and was relieved that it was sliding down.
“You know about your back tyre-“
“There’s a bubble in it. Shot-ah,” the guy said with a small smile. Before I knew it I was back in my car, feeling good. I got the feeling others had done the same thing, and he was moved by the collective consideration that had been elicited. I just hope he changed the damn tyre that day!

Be careful when approaching others even if your intention is to help. The rescuer often needs to be rescued, when acting impetuously. That said, if you are called to help another, we ought not to hesitate about doing so. It is the decent thing to do. If you are not called, not compelled, move on. Perhaps someone with more confidence will be called. Then again, maybe not.