I have been driving for 23 years, almost as long as democracy has been in this country; yes, 23 years. But I must ask anyone who has been driving for 10 years or less which South African Road Traffic Act they were given.
Did you know that STOP means only STOP? Not as in Afrikaans, “Sit toon op petrol” or in English, “Slide toe on petrol”. Yes, STOP. In other words, come to a complete standstill! It is not an acronym for anything else!
Did you know that a stop sign does not give you the right to pass a vehicle that has STOPPED because you are late? Yes, I checked – the SA Road Traffic Act says nothing about that. In fact, it says that when you stop behind a vehicle, you should be far enough behind it to see where its tyres touch the ground, and the number plate should be visible to you and yours to the driver in front of you!
Did you know, robots are red, green and orange for a reason? My seven-year-old daughter has a beautiful song she was taught in Grade R about that. Green is for go, orange is for slow and RED is for STOP. See the correlation between a STOP sign and a RED robot? They both mean the same thing! STOP.
Did you know that speed limits are not there to irritate you, but for a dual purpose? They are there for your safety, and the safety of others, as well as for fuel-efficient driving. Wow, the government actually thought of your pockets!
Motorcyclists, did you know that there is no separate law written for you allowing you to barrel through traffic smacking mirrors off cars who justly put on indicators to go from one lane to the next? So to the next driver with a “Think bike” sticker on his or her car’s bumper, which is garish by the way, I think you need to change it to “Think SA Road Traffic ACT”.
Just some of the “LITTLE” known facts of the LAW of South African Roads. If you don’t like these laws, here are two foreign places that I know of that do not have this fantastic thing – Cairo and Hong Kong. Why not emigrate, you will fit right in!
