For many, the concept of driving, and I mean the actual concept of it, is not difficult to understand.
In fact, the process is so simple that we allow 17- and 18-year-old youngsters to do it.
And let’s face it, these 17- and 18-year-old youngsters are neither the most responsible nor the most intelligent life-forms on the planet; I know I was there too.
In South Africa, you have an option of a manual car or an automatic car.
Both variants are equipped with a little thing called indicators.
If you have bought a car, which for some reason does not include these, then you have been ripped off and I suggest you contact the relevant consumer body.
Now, these little wonder-lights situated on either corner of your car, do a magical thing.
Should you as a driver decide to change direction, whether between lanes or from one street to the next, simply lift one finger and flick the leaver. Up for right and down for left. Those little magical lights let other motorists know of your intention to manoeuvre from your current position to another position on the roads we all share.
This concept in itself seems simple doesn’t it?
So, why is it that so few motorists know how to use indicators?
Is it really possible that those devious car dealerships have been selling us, the trusted road-using public, motor vehicles without the all-important lane/direction changing magical lights?
No they haven’t.
It is not an optional extra when purchasing your vehicle. You do not pay more for a set of four functioning indicators (although with the price of vehicles these days, one could be mistaken for believing otherwise).
In fact, there is an entire section in the K53 handbook which deals with the use of indicators; you don’t even have to search for it. Its right in the beginning of the book, how convenient is that?
Back to the concept of driving; how about those gaps between cars?
Despite popular beliefs, that gap between me and the car in front of me is not enough space for two taxis, a VW Golf with shiny rims, and a BMW to fit into.
That space is called “a safe following distance”. Repeat it slowly if the phrase is not understood.
That little space is designed to ensure I can stop in time should there be an accident ahead of me on the road.
It could be the equivalent to a personal space bubble, but on the highway while travelling at 100 to 120km/h, it could be referred to as a little circle of safety.
Also, driving through a red traffic light does not make you a hero. Actually, if you ask any other motorist who was waiting for the light to turn green, they could think of many more floral, four letter words to describe you.
And why is it that negotiating a traffic circle seems to be rocket science?
This little piece of brilliance is also covered in the K53 handbook, which they tell 17- and 18-year-old youngsters to study before they can get their learner’s license.
Then dear fellow motorists; should you find yourself in a period of load shedding and the traffic lights are out, the intersection should be treated as if there were those big red octagon-shaped signs, known to the general public as a STOP sign.
If you do not know the basic workings of an intersection equipped with a stop sign, then I strongly suggest you head down to your closest Driver’s License Testing Centre (also affectionately known as a centre of mass hysteria) to have your driver’s test re-evaluated.
