Driving in RSA

Before coming here, I was encouraged to obtain an international driver’s license because of the DWC (driving while Chinese) syndrome. Apparently because of the influx of lots of Chinese from Asia, many of whom drive without licenses, it is common for the traffic police to “shake down” by stopping vehicles driven be Chinese, who generally all carry a lot of cash and basically collecting from un-licensed drivers. Getting an International driver’s license from the AAA was a breeze, requiring only a modest fee and two pictures.

The first thing one has to remember while driving here is that cars drive on the left hand side of the road and that the steering wheel, gear lever and brakes are on the other side of the car. The most difficult part initially is turning right into a street without ending up on the wrong side of the road. One of the things I have still to get used to after almost a month here is seeing no driver on the left side of the car in front of me. Initially I thought that most of the drivers were very short because I could not see their heads! Another disconcerting thing and also a pet peeve is how closely they follow each other at high speeds. While I was driving on the freeway yesterday, I kept seeing cars behind me following so closely that I could not see their head-lights in my rear-view mirror. Putting on the hazard-flashing lights do not deter them at all, they just ignore me. I would periodically tap on the brakes and they would give me a little space, but would be right there again when I let off the brakes. And what is worst is that they will not pass me when there is space, they just enjoy sitting on my tail.

I will relate some of the tips that some of my local relatives and friends have drummed into me (in no particular order):-

· Always lock the car door and close windows as soon as you get into the car.
· Put our bag and phone out of reach of the windows. Smashing windows and reaching into the car and grabbing things within reach is pretty common.
· Do not stop at places like lights at off ramp at night if there are places that can conceal a person. A few friends have had bricks thrown at their windows from people hiding at off-ramps.
· If you see an obstruction on the freeway, try and get away form it even it means going the wrong way. A relative had a tree put in his way on a major freeway and when he reversed to get out of there, someone threw a brick at his car.
· At night, travel on well lit freeways even if it means traveling a lot further. (Johannesburg has ring roads and multiple freeways that lead to the same destination, some a lot safer than others.)
· Do not drive through the center of town at night.
· Do not drive through Hillbrow even during the day. (This used to be my favorite place to visit with Margot before I emigrated.)
· When waiting at someone’s house, always make sure that the car can move wither forward or backwards at short notice, i.e. do not park into a driveway with a wall or gate in front of you.
· When approaching your destination, make sure you have not been followed and that there not people you do not know milling around where you are about to stop. If necessary, go around the block several times until the coast is clear and call the people at the destination to make sure it is safe to stop if the coast is not clear.
· When coming in from the airport, make sure you are not followed. Two friends of my friend, Richard, were robbed by people following them from the airport. One of them had this happen to him twice on two consecutive trips! I could not figure out initially why my friend, John, insisted that he come fetch me from the airport, it was only afterwards that I found out what he was worried about.
· Always carry a working cell phone when driving.
· Always carry R2 coins when going anywhere, these being used to pay people that guard cars that are parked at parking lots and also along the city streets. They supposedly guard the cars in their allotted places and mostly have some sort of badge indicating that they are parking guards. However, do not expect them to risk their lives for your car if a robber comes for the car.
· Be on the lookout for vans that look like VW minibus. They are generally the taxis that will stop anywhere at no notice and also turn at no notice. The minibuses are generally not well maintained and are always packed. (See below at an email sent to me titled “Soweto goes Formula 1” for a giggle.) These minibuses generally have seatbelts for 10 people including the driver, most of them will pack 15 to 18 people into it. Commuters taking them have developed a complex hand signaling mechanism that allows the drivers to determine whether to pick them up or not. They have no scheduled stops nor to the best of my understanding established routes. They are like roving cabs that cater to lots of people simultaneously.
· Do not turn into the driveway of the American Consulate. A friend of Bridget’s did this to execute a three-point turn and had her car impaled by spikes coming out of the ground. Caused damage amounting to tens of thousands of Rands.
· Start the car in the garage before opening the door and close the door as soon as possible. This minimizes the time the door is open. Not very healthy for people inside the garage and the house though.
· Always make sure to look at the map to know where you are going, and what off ramp you are going to take on freeways. There are signs on the freeways, but generally there is only one indication of the pending ramp, which is generally blocked from view by one of the trucks that crawl the freeways. The signs are generally at the ramp itself giving not a lot of time for changing lanes.
· Road rage is pretty common; do not react unless you want an altercation.
· Do not assume that most cars are road-worthy or well maintained.
· When the traffic light (robot) turns green, do not assume that people with the red light will not just go. Some lights now display red in all directions for a little while to allow for traffic to settle down. However, some drivers being wise to this will start moving as soon as the other side turns red while others will carry on moving even when it is red because they know that the green is not yet due for a few more seconds!Makes for interesting traffic patterns. :=(>
· Pedestrians do not have the right of way. If fact the right of way is mostly determined by the size of the vehicle and the driver’s ability to accept risk. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the greatest risk takers, the minibus drivers mostly rate a 9.9!

Needless to say, driving here has been somewhat nerve wrecking for me. I find even the NYC and LA drivers to be easier to handle than the ones here! I do not particularly enjoy driving at the best to times, this just makes it more of a chore. :=(>

I was sent this email as a joke by Richard which I thought was appropriate for this blog (Soweto is a part of Johannesburg) : -

Soweto goes Formula 1.

Ferrari Formula 1 racing team recently fired their whole pit crew to employ a few young guys from Soweto. This sudden reaction was due to a TV documentary showing how Sowetans could take a car's wheels off within 6 seconds, without any fancy equipment.
Ferrari soon regretted their decision, however, as the young men not only changed the wheels within 6 seconds, but 12 seconds later the car had been re-sprayed and sold to the McLaren Team.
Ferrari was still eager to compete in the race and, since they no longer had a Formula 1 car to race with, decided to race a Sowetan Minibus taxi complete with an experienced (Yet unlicensed) driver and Fare collector in the Grand Prix.
Of course they easily won the championship, since the minibus weaved its way through the start grid, set off before the lights changed and didn't bother to change the tyres when they wore out. It also took all corners at a maximum speed, as the brakes were non-existent. On the way to victory, the new Ama-Ferrari-Ferrari team also managed to hijack several competitors' cars, and picked up 35 passengers at some notoriously dangerous spots, including blind rises as well as in the chicane. We can be proud of another SA sporting achievement, which will put us at the forefront of sporting history. Well-done boys!!!!!!!