Mark Kinnear writes:

It’s been a long year. We have worked hard. Our children have applied themselves at school and we are proud of them. Some of you have just written your last matric exam. We all deserve a break, a holiday, an escape from the race we have just completed.

Many of us have a little extra money and will go on a holiday, be it a long weekend away, or an extended trip to one of South Africa’s or a neighbouring country’s beautiful destinations.

Sodwana, Balito, Margate, East London, Jeffreys Bay, Plett, Cape Town, where will you be going? Your kids can’t wait to wake up early in the morning, snuggle up in the backseat under a blanket and fall asleep listening to the sound of the tyres and engine. You have budgeted for everything including those extremely overpriced ice lollies the beach vendors sell.

Or maybe it’s a weekend in the Kruger National Park or Marloth, or a few days in Mozambique or Swaziland, or a trip to visit family in another province.

But wherever you are going you will probably have to drive there. Please do so carefully, sensibly and patiently. Also, please remember that out of all the hundreds of thousands of vehicles you are going to pass, a few will be driven by reckless idiots. There will also be vehicles that are clearly not roadworthy.

Think for them as well, don’t get angry and if you can, report them to the authorities. The roads will be extremely busy from this weekend until the end of the second weekend in January. If you are behind the steering wheel you have precious lives in your hands.
Not just the lives of loved ones in your vehicle, but also the lives of the loved ones of the drivers in other vehicles. It is a huge responsibility, as big as, or bigger than, any you have tackled in the workplace.

Travel to your destination safely. Obey all the rules of the road, always. A long road trip is stressful and the time will come when you say, “Stuff this, now I’m going to take a chance.” Don’t! It might be the last chance you ever take.

Let the holiday adventure begin and end at home, with your and your family members’ hearts pumping oxygenated blood to your brains and with all your body parts intact. It’s been a great year, don’t mess it up now.

Have an awesome holiday – you deserve it.