A call for responsible drivers

This week, I would like to turn a full 360 degrees and highlight the frustration motorists face as a result of bad driving – taxis and other motorists.

It would seem some Joburgers have no regard for the basic rules of the road. Many perform illegal U-turn’s and drive through red lights on a daily basis.

While we can point fingers at taxi drivers, buses and irresponsible motorists, Metro police are just as much to blame.

Rules are broken because there are no consequences.

I know people who regularly boast about having R200 in their car to bribe the officer who pulls them over after a night of drinking. If our Metro police were above board, not only would our roads be safer but we would also have more responsible citizens. We would have a nation that feared drinking and driving because of the harsh penalties. A nation that didn’t speed, run robots or drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid long lines of traffic. Metro police need to take a harsher stance regarding these simple rules of the road. They need to be visible and feared. It should not be as simple as keeping some spare cash in your car.

I urge Metro police to enforce traffic rules. Let’s start holding motorists accountable for illegal driving, and name and shame them.

[CAMERA] If you see someone breaking the law, take a photo and post in on the xxxxxxxx Facebook page. The xxxxxx will in turn, pass the photo and licence plate onto the Metro police and highlight problematic areas.

While it might be naive to think we can change the bad driving habits of Joburg motorists, I do believe that change has to start somewhere.