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Don’t be selfish on the road

South Africa’s deadly disease – selfishness – struck again this week, leaving 18 people dead and more than 250 injured.


This time it was a selfish truck driver who was not prepared to waste his time – which would have been less than a minute in the end – to wait for a fully loaded Shosholoza Meyl passenger train to pass a level crossing outside the Free State town of Henneman.

So he put foot – and his vehicle got hit by the train. He survived because his truck “horse” was unscathed, but the others did not, because the impact of the crash was severe enough to derail the train locomotive, power car and a number of other carriages. These were then swept by fire, which spread from the power car.

That selfishness is worth thinking about this weekend as hundreds of thousands of vehicles stream home. Selfishness will be the order of the day – be it speeding, overtaking on a solid white line, drinking, or driving in the emergency lanes.

There will, sadly, be many more victims. Our message to all of those on the roads is: Think about someone else, not yourself. You may save your own life in the process.

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