# what happens behind the wheel



## Stevan (Jun 30, 2009)

i have found south africans on the whole to be very polite and friendly. so what happens when they get behind the wheel of a car. i dared to allow a car out from a side road and every car behind me for seven kilometers blasted thier horn. an old lady screamed passed me yelling words that made me blush ( and i was at sea for twenty years and not easly offended by such things). myself and the son and heir to my fortune have debated this many a night over the dying embers of the fire whilst sampling some of charles glass's finest. our original theory was it was in the driving test. my son now having passed his assures me that at no time was he expected to flick the finger or swear. we are now working on the genetic theory. 

so i was wondering if you south african expats can shed some light. daxk do you trundle along the leafy irish lanes with one hand over your horn and a finger flexed and ready, halo do you drive five hundred miles across the dusty out back hoping to see another car so you can flash your lights cut them up and then yell abuse. 

perhaps everybody wants to be taxi drivers. we did some calculations and by our estimation by the 12th of june there will be one taxi per passenger, within another six months everbody will be a taxi driver. home affairs will have to throw open the doors to everyone because there will be nobody to do any other work or fill the taxis. 3 months after this the last peice of open road will be filled by a taxi and road deaths will drop to zero because nobody can move on the roads.:eyebrows::eyebrows::eyebrows:


----------



## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

Nice Post! Stevan.
Driving in Ireland was a culture shock, everyone lets people in, in fact when I first arrived I nearly rear ended cars often for stopping for no reason.
as they let someone cross a road or drive in. 

The main Dublin Galway road used to run through about twenty villages and would get bumper to bumper at times, I freaked, a car stopped, door opened, engine still running with two kids in the back, she ran into a shop, grabbed a loaf of bread and two liters of milk, paid for it and ran back to her car waving a thanks.....
no-one hooted.
there were easily twenty cars behind me.

back in SA, within a day I'm back to the pushing and shoving on the highways.
its a me first attitude and difficult to explain to people who come from well mannered cultures.

I think if my friends here were suddenly dumped into the Ben Schoeman at 140k's an hour with two car lengths front and back they would have a nervous breakdown.


----------



## zambezi.king (Oct 8, 2009)

I can't speak for all the cities, town etc but it seems this is mainly in the cities. Smaller towns, hamlets and rural areas have the more laid back approach. I could have something to do with the frustration level due to congestion, TAXIS and other rude and inconsiderate road users.

When the 58th person has cut you off, pushed in and/or abused you in the space of an hour you tend to get the "if you can't beat them, join them" attitude... I consciously tell myself to relax when I get behind the wheel and have to remember that letting someone in will only delay me by a few seconds.

Rude people (aka taxis) used see a very large 4x4 offroad bumper resting or very nearly resting on the offending door/fender/bumper... aah, the mad old days!


----------



## vegasboy (Apr 28, 2010)

This may help: Trying to form or suggest some sort of queue in the midst of total chaos to process our passports at Beitbridge border between Zimbabwe and South Africa years ago, and extremely frustrated by the lack of organisation and private space, a Zimbabwean, noticing that I got irate as literally hundreds just pushed their way through the bundle to get to the front, exclaimed: Sir, this is Africa. Here we don’t queue, we just get involved....”

Needless to say that I joined in, got involved and within minutes pushed my way to the front.


----------



## Stevan (Jun 30, 2009)

i had to send a truck from port shepstone to durban for repairs recently. the driver was happy to take it with a slipping clutch, cracked wind screen and a leak from the back brake. when i old him the horn didnt work he refused, he said you cant drive in durban without the horn lol.


----------



## Johanna (Apr 13, 2009)

Stevan said:


> i had to send a truck from port shepstone to durban for repairs recently. the driver was happy to take it with a slipping clutch, cracked wind screen and a leak from the back brake. when i old him the horn didnt work he refused, he said you cant drive in durban without the horn lol.



:confused2:

Then you ask why people act so weirdly when on the roads, I think if I had to drive behind such an un-roadworthy vehicle as the one you described, I would lose my cool too. It is against the law ( ok ok Halo, Vegasboy, Daxk etc .... before you reply sarcastically again!!!) 
That truck should have been towed away Stevan, I want to say you are as guilty as any other person breaking the law. No wonder there is such a disregard for the law, everyone seems to think it is within their right to do what they want to, instead of practice what you preach?

Sorry for this rant, but it makes my blood boil when the law is disregarded.

BY ANYONE


----------



## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

I only belatedly realised the Driver was talking about the trucks hooter. Lol but then i did live in "Debbin" for about 10 years in my "youf"


----------



## Stevan (Jun 30, 2009)

Johanna said:


> :confused2:
> 
> Then you ask why people act so weirdly when on the roads, I think if I had to drive behind such an un-roadworthy vehicle as the one you described, I would lose my cool too. It is against the law ( ok ok Halo, Vegasboy, Daxk etc .... before you reply sarcastically again!!!)
> That truck should have been towed away Stevan, I want to say you are as guilty as any other person breaking the law. No wonder there is such a disregard for the law, everyone seems to think it is within their right to do what they want to, instead of practice what you preach?
> ...


i accept my guilt johanna and bow my head in shame. 

in my defence it was probably one of the most roadworthy trucks on the road. and the quotes for tows could have settled the national debt of some small countrys

this was meant to be a light hearted post, i was hoping to get away from the normal rants and raves in this section of the forum. please accept it as such or close it.


----------



## Stevan (Jun 30, 2009)

Daxk said:


> I only belatedly realised the Driver was talking about the trucks hooter. Lol but then i did live in "Debbin" for about 10 years in my "youf"


yes from my limited experience of durban hooters do seem promenant in that part of kzn lol


----------



## Zimtony (Jun 28, 2008)

Having groen up in southern Africa with all of the fun the driving brings in Zims, Botswana and South Africa, I spent a sedate (driving wise) few years in the UK. THEN I moved to Spain......................my God, the driving here is incredible! Each young boy thinks he is the next Fernando Alonso, the ladies (sorry girls) spend an incredible amount of time gesticulating and swerving all over the place when they are driving and talking - and that is just when they are alone in the car, the old men think they are still riding donkeys - 20k's an hour up a single lane in rush hour, nobody parks their car - more like abandons their cars and as for the lorry drivers...........don't get me started!!!

Almost makes me wish for those days on the William Nichol highway and dodge the "Zola Budd"!!!!!


----------



## vegasboy (Apr 28, 2010)

Can someone PLEASE start a new thread so we can do what we do best: a good debate with a few heated arguments lol...:boxing: of course without getting personal


----------



## Johanna (Apr 13, 2009)

vegasboy said:


> Can someone PLEASE start a new thread so we can do what we do best: a good debate with a few heated arguments lol...:boxing: of course without getting personal


You are certainly in a good :boxing: mood !


I honestly like a heated argument, but it usually gets people like TheRooster and all his aliases alive again and in all honesty, I do not have the energy for that kind of argument!
:ranger::ranger::ranger:


----------



## vegasboy (Apr 28, 2010)

Johanna said:


> You are certainly in a good :boxing: mood !
> 
> 
> I honestly like a heated argument, but it usually gets people like TheRooster and all his aliases alive again and in all honesty, I do not have the energy for that kind of argument!
> :ranger::ranger::ranger:


 Haha, true Johanna.


----------

