Cutting out corruption in licence process would make everyone safer

South Africa’s roads are known for being a charnel house of death and destruction – but new figures about road rage indicate our highways are also an arena for anger.

In the past three months, there were 17 316 assault with intent to commit grievous bodily harm cases recorded by the police.

Layton Beard, spokesperson for the Automobile Association of South Africa, said: “Road rage is real and, unfortunately, can happen to anyone. But with a little patience and tolerance, minor traffic events could be prevented from escalating into incidents of road rage.”

ALSO READ: Road rage spike: over 6000 killed due to anger on roads

With all due respect to Beard, we would like to suggest that there is one horrifying reality at the heart of road rage: South Africans either have illegal driver’s licences (and haven’t, therefore, been trained properly) or they are legal, but ignorant.

Sadly, many “know not that they know not” and believe they are the only ones who correctly interpret the rules of the road. This leads to them getting angry when they erroneously believe they are in the right.

Those who are driving correctly can, in the same way, rage at the idiots. Cutting out the corruption in the licence process would make everyone safer – and more calm.