South Africa's Road Carnage: What Bad Driving Says About Our Society

Let’s talk about something uniquely South African – a national sport that doesn’t involve balls, goals, or points. I’m talking about navigating our roads, a daily activity that’s as much about survival as it is about driving. Our roads have become a kind of dystopian carnival, where stop signs, traffic lights and speed limits are mere suggestions, and if you actually give way, you’re viewed as weak, possibly deranged.

In other countries, roads are managed with orderly lanes, working lights, and drivers who have at least a vague notion of civility. Here in South Africa, it’s more like a social experiment on what happens when law, courtesy, and basic sanity are disregarded. And if you’re feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration – watching people weaving, ignoring every single rule, and treating every intersection like a Formula 1 race start – well, congratulations. You’re witnessing society's decay in real-time.

The Joy of Ignoring the Rules

When exactly did it become normal to ignore red lights entirely, to speed through school zones, or to turn every single drive into a demolition derby? In South Africa, we don’t drive. We survive. No one seems interested in keeping to their lane, let alone to the speed limit. Driving has become a battleground of egos where the most basic rules of respect and civility have been tossed out of the window.

Then there’s the frustration of sitting at intersections, endlessly waiting for lights that never work, while traffic builds up in every direction. Rather than obeying any concept of “first come, first go,” we see a brawl for supremacy as drivers force their way through like they’re avoiding Armageddon. It’s a wild west where politeness is not only unappreciated, but also actively punished.

Traffic Lights: Endangered Species?

And let’s get into the glorious bane of every South African motorist’s existence: traffic lights that function… occasionally. Or never. Or only when you don’t need them. It’s like playing Russian roulette – is it working today, or am I relying on sheer luck?

These broken traffic lights, particularly at main intersections, are now managed by an odd assortment of people who pop up out of nowhere – vagrants trying to make a quick buck. To be fair, there’s something admirable about their initiative. But should we really be putting our safety in the hands of a bloke in a tattered shirt and mismatched shoes, armed only with a vague sense of direction and hand signals that seem to be more interpretive dance than traffic control? This isn’t a solution; it’s barely a stopgap, and it speaks volumes about the state of our infrastructure.

We’re a country where traffic lights go off more often than they work, and we just shrug. Imagine telling a Londoner or New Yorker that half their intersections will now be managed by random pedestrians because, well, their lights just don’t work anymore. They’d think they’d entered a parallel universe.

A Reflection of Broader Society?

This chaos on our roads is more than just an inconvenience or a temporary frustration. It’s a symptom of something bigger. When people disregard rules on the road, they’re not just being reckless – they’re making a broader statement about their view on authority, law, and, frankly, on one another. Road manners – or lack thereof – are just one side of a coin that includes the day-to-day impatience and intolerance that’s creeping into other parts of life.

South Africans are constantly being let down by basic services, yet we carry on, accepting that, somehow, it’s the way things are. The road chaos – the hooting, the aggressive cutting in, the blatant ignoring of everyone else’s safety – is a snapshot of a society that’s feeling frayed at the edges. It’s as if we’re saying, “I’ll do what I need to do to survive, everyone else be damned.”

Where Do We Go from Here?

So, what’s the solution? It’s tempting to fantasise about drastic measures – perhaps every driver should be forced to watch polite British driving videos on repeat until they remember how to indicate, or maybe we hire an army of traffic cops armed with cattle prods. But really, it comes down to something much more fundamental: respect. Respect for the rules, respect for each other, and respect for the roads we share.

Road behaviour reflects society’s collective character, and ours isn’t looking particularly flattering right now. It’s a mess that won’t be fixed by one or two functional traffic lights or the efforts of an enthusiastic vagrant trying to earn a few rand on a Saturday afternoon. It’s going to take a national wake-up call.

South Africans have grit, ingenuity, and a fierce sense of pride. We can do better than this. But it starts with each of us choosing not just to drive safely but to live responsibly. The next time you find yourself behind the wheel, consider that you’re not just another driver; you’re a part of a society that’s shaping its own future. Maybe, just maybe, if we can get our roads back in line, we’ll get our society back on track, too.

For now, though, buckle up, grip the steering wheel, and hope for the best.