Orange is the new green on the South Coast, it seems.
In days of yore, it was drummed into us long before we went for that dreaded driver’s licence test that:
Green means GO!
Red means STOP!
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Orange means prepare to STOP! (In other words, slow down.)
Well, that all seems to have gone out of windows that are now so darkly tinted that you can’t even see the driver giving you the middle finger.
Orange now means… put your foot down and race the traffic light even after it turns red. Make those suckers coming from the other side wait!
As for traffic circles and four-way stops, hey… push in when you see a gap, bru! Wait-your-turn ‘se foot’.
The result, there is absolute chaos at several intersections on the South Coast. Take the traffic circle at Oribi Centre for example. The Herald staff dice with death every time they come to work. Heck! Several cars have even been seen going around the wrong way.
Then there’s the new mini circle at the entrance to Albersville, where residents have long suffered lengthy delays. Like Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, Albersville also has ‘rush hour’ while the rest of the coast is fortunate to have ‘rush 15 minutes’.
It seems the new circle has made little difference to the daily flow and some say it’s even worse.
Of course, everyone is quick to blame Ray Nkonyeni Municipality for ‘bad planning’, but is this really true?
Traffic circles around the world have proved to be highly effective. In fact, the Free State town of Welkom is renowned for its circles… and they work.
But that’s only because motorists have learned how to drive by the rules and they understand that traffic circles are designed to keep a constant flow.
In a nutshell, yield to cars coming from the right. However, to really make the system work, also show some courtesy.
To illustrate the point, the ‘burbs in Johannesburg became clogged with traffic long before people started dodging dodgy tolls on highways. Out of necessity, Johannesburg drivers soon learned to let others into the flow.
There’s no reason why the Albertsville circle shouldn’t work and the municipal powers-that-be have now decided that it’s just about educating drivers how to use them.
So, don’t be surprised to see officers directing traffic at this hot spot soon, not to police, but to teach.
With a bit of luck, motorists will eventually get the hang of it and drive around in circles on their own.
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