WATCH: Out-of-control SANDF Rooikat crashes on N1

Footage of an out-of-control South African National Defence Force (SANDF) vehicle – a ‘Rooikat’ armoured vehicle – crashing on the N1 near Bloemfontein has South Africans in an uproar.

SANDF Rooikat accident

Dashcam footage of the incident and photos taken by passersby were shared on social media.

The armoured vehicle can be seen overtaking another vehicle on the N1. The driver then loses control and the vehicle veers into a barrier.

Of course, South Africans couldn’t resist the opportunity and came prepared with their jokes. One netizen asked: “Who drives a Rooikat like they are driving a Golf?”

Watch: SANDF Rooikat out of control

Another Twitter user added: “Why was he driving so fast? I mean it’s not an emergency mos.. Why drive this thing so fast? Niyaybona ke lento ka Pass One PASS ALL kle license”.

One user said army convoys are “supposed to travel at around 80km/h max”, adding that even if the Rooikat can go 120km per hour, it’s “no reason to try it”.

“Looks like the 8×8 vehicle was overtaking above 80km/hr when the driver lost control”, Twitter user @Jakepor21 explained.

SANDF Rooikat

The Rooikat – Afrikaans for caracal, or Red cat – is a South African armoured reconnaissance vehicle equipped with a stabilised 76 mm high-velocity gun.

Prior to general elections in 1994, the army deployed the Rooikat vehicles for internal patrols. By 1996, there were only 176 Rooikats in service.

Since the Rooikats were specifically created for the SANDF, an additional 66 Rooikats were commissioned from the Sandock-Austral Shipyards in Durban and added to the fleet.

This article was updated on 21 February 2022 to correctly refer to a Rooikat as an ‘armoured vehicle’ and not a tanker, and to remove references of the Eland 90 vehicles and Ratels.