Many of us have found ourselves in frustrating traffic jams across the City of Johannesburg.
According to TomTom’s most recent traffic index, Joburg is ranked at number 70 on the most congested cities list comprising 390 cities in 48 countries.
To add to motorists’ frustrations, traffic leads to higher fuel consumption, higher pollution levels, higher accident risk and loss in either productive work time or family time.
Elmarie Twilley, spokesperson for Virseker insurance brand said, “Roadworks, road blocks, bottlenecks, accidents and mechanical breakdowns are often to blame for traffic, but it’s often ‘ghost traffic’ – the kind that seems to come out of nowhere – that causes significant delays.
“With more than 12 million registered vehicles on South African roads, according to the most recent eNatis stats, minor adjustments in vehicle owner and driver behaviour could make a substantial time, environment and money-saving difference.
“Chances are that, at least to some extent, you are playing an active role in creating the very traffic that you are trying to get out of, which means that you can also play a positive part in fixing it.”
Virseker offers the following tips to help to alleviate congestion:
- Carpool or use public transport systems to reduce the number of cars on the road
- Maintain your vehicle to avoid breakdowns
- Avoid distractions such as eating, drinking, touching up make-up or using your cellphone while driving
- Select the correct lane for the speed that you’re travelling
- Keep a constant eye on the vehicles in front of you and allow an adequate buffer of space
- Plan your turns, and your highway entrances and exits in advance to ensure you get into the correct lane early enough.
- Indicate clearly and well in advance
- Be accommodating towards other drivers when it comes to lane mergers where a ‘zipper’ structure should be followed
- Use up-to-date traffic reports and your GPS to avoid congested areas
- Don’t ‘rubberneck’ at an accident or breakdown scene
- Report faulty traffic lights, damaged roads, obstructions and bad driver behaviour.
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