Do your bit to help save lives on the road

Whether you are one of those fortunate people who are already on leave or if you’re still counting down the days left before you head down to the coast, the approaching festive season always provides plenty of optimism.

Some people have been saving up a bit of cash for their annual leave, others have been gathering wood and stocking the deep freezer with premium braai cuts and then there will always be those who catch a sun tan so they don’t look too Pommie-ish in their bikinis on the beach.

But sadly, not all of these people will even see the New Year and a few won’t even be around for Christmas.

Because as is the case with every holiday season, the carnage on our roads will take its usual course and claim many lives over the festive period.

It’s unavoidable in many ways, because of the sheer magnitude of traffic that will be travelling along the most popular routes to the most popular destinations at peak times.

Further add to this unroadworthy vehicles, inept drivers with falsified driving licences who shouldn’t be behind a wheel in the first place, drunken drivers and otherwise perfectly capable drivers either being frustrated or irritated or falling asleep behind the wheel and you have a recipe for disaster.

Add uneducated pedestrians to the equation and those under the influence of alcohol disregarding roads and the traffic on them and a few newspaper headlines going forward have already been written.

We’ve seen them all before. “Death toll rises”, “Roads claims dozens” and “Record death tolls on our roads”.

A lot of these tragedies are caused by things outside our control as drivers, but the least those of us that will be getting behind the wheel in a sober state, with a clear conscience and a legal driver’s licence can do is try and anticipate and think for those who seemingly can’t.

Don’t overtake on a solid line or in a potentially dangerous situation, try and keep yourself together and take immediate action when fatigue kicks in.

If everyone can tick all these boxes we might just help save lives.

Whether it’s the old man crossing the road or the toddler fast asleep in his baby seat, every life matters.

It’s been a long year for The Citizen Motoring which has overseen many changes.

We look forward to an exciting 2019 which will again have heaps of new models in store as well as a fantastic season on motorsport in prospect.

As Lewis Hamilton prepares to go within one Formula One title of Michael Schumacher’s seven, Brad Binder will gear up for a proper shot at the Moto2 title.

But before then Giniel de Villiers is looking for another Dakar Rally title in Peru which The Citizen is privileged enough to have front row seats to.

Happy holidays.

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