Wednesday, 25 February 2009

It's driving Jim ...but not as we know it

Driving continues to be a source of constant entertainment. Not an outing goes by without witnessing at least one act of total lunacy. I don’t know where some people obtain their licenses as there are no Woolworths here.
This photo shows an impatient driver in his LandCruiser driving up onto the traffic island to jump the cue (maybe a bit hard to see). I don't usually have my camera with me in the car...a classic shot!
The indicator seems to be something yet to be fathomed by most, yet all know where the horn is located. It is common to get headlight flashed from someone behind you to get out of their way. Often due to the inside lane being packed you can’t do anything about it and not being able move aside infuriates the flasher even more. At times like this, as you are most definitely not allowed to make any hand gestures ( or as it happens, flash your lights to make people get out of your way in the first place ) , I put on my hazard lights briefly as a visual substitute for a friendly hand gesture, hopefully infuriating the flasher even more. This practice requires utmost care as the flasher will more than likely cut dangerously in front of you, missing you by centimeters, if given the chance to get past you on the inside lane which he will do by pushing in and not using his indicators. On the open road however it is best to get out of the flashers way as he is very likely to be coming up behind you at well over the speed limit. Inevitably these drivers are locals in their huge 4 wheel drives. Extreme tail gating is common and you hear stories of them nudging the car in front from behind at 120+ kmph…..Not something you want to happen to you, having a big Land Cruiser right up your jacksy is bad enough..
Recently we saw a 4x4 get up onto two wheels and attain almost 45 degrees by attempting a roundabout at great speed. He was up for a good 2 seconds and quite how he didn’t flip over is beyond me, although it wouldn’t surprise me that this may have been an intentional stunt as there was a vehicle parked up that seemed to be waiting and watching. Tonight I was passed by someone doing at least 150kms in a 100 zone on a reasonably busy 3 lane road, he then proceeded to get sideways getting on to the roundabout and passing everyone on it.
You see crashed vehicles all too frequently on the side of the road and although I haven’t yet witnessed an accident happen I have come across plenty of very recent ones. A number of big trucks and tankers have overturned recently, apparently going too fast on roundabouts. There also appears to be a large boy racer fraternity judging by all the burn out marks on some of the roads. What else is a poor rich boy to do when he has Daddys ( or his own ) Maserati or Ferrari for the evening.
Luckily for everybody there is very little drinking, due largely to the limited availability of alcohol and the Koran which forbids partaking, else it would be carnage out there.
So far we have both managed to avoid any accidents although have had plenty of close calls. Roundabouts are a particular worry as many are 3 lanes and people just don’t keep to the lanes they should even though there are clear road markings. The trick is to avoid being next to anyone as they will more than likely be in the wrong lane and cut you and others off. Other important strategies are a. be prepared to go around again as you have just been cut off or forced away from your intended exit by someone in the wrong lane, b. be prepared to hit the brakes at any given moment, c. hope above all that you survive the roundabout unscathed and d. expect the unexpected as this is most likely to happen . A finely tuned mix of defensive and aggressive driving seems to be your best option if you want to get anywhere.

1 comment:

Geoffrey said...

So the Klingons on the starboard bow, starboard bow, starboard bow were just trying to get past.