SA Rocks

It’s 09:31 on Monday morning. Yes, that’s right, 9:31AM in the morning and I already have a story to tell you.

Driving to work this morning I took my exit off the highway and stopped at the traffic lights. To my absolute shock the BMW did not stop at the red robot that we were both stopped at. He paused and drove straight through it.

This was not one of those, “It’s almost green for me I’ll go” moments. This was a proper red robot (traffic light) that had JUST turned red.

So I hoot to let the guy know that he has done something illegal. Because he had done something illegal.

Now the very interesting part of this story begins here. There are not many office parks that top the size of the one that I work at so chances are that I will bump in to anyone getting off that off-ramp at that time. And I did. In fact Mr BMW man was right in front of me as I entered my office park. So we both go through the booms but he senses that I am behind him.

He stops his car in the middle of the entrance, sticks his head of the window and proceeds to ask me if I have a problem. This is how the conversation went:

Me: Yes, I have a problem. You went through a red robot.
BMW: Who are you? The police? You are a nobody.
Me: I am not the police, but you broke the law and could’ve hurt someone.
BMW: You are no one, are you a traffic officer?
Me: No, but what if you had killed someone, can’t you see you did something illegal?
BMW: I don’t care, who are you, you are nobody, what’s your problem? You can’t do anything to me.

And sadly he was right. Sadly I honestly thought that upon inspection I would find some semblance of humanity. But alas, I was mistaken.

This is where I begin to get exceptionally irritated because I can almost bet my bottom dollar that this is the type of person (one who believes that red traffic lights do not apply to him) who will bitch and moan about anarchy in our nation and that he wants to leave and doesn’t feel safe because of all the crime.

Well let me just inform you of something. I don’t feel safe either, Mr BMW man, I don’t feel safe because of stuck up brats like you who believe that crime only means murder, rape and violence. Well you broke the law today and you made me feel unsafe on the road. I wish you would take your pseudo-importance and fancy almost-wealth and leave this country of mine, it would be a safer place without idiots like you.

So I conclude that occasionally, in fact probably more often than not, anarchy filters from the top down, not the bottom up.

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Sometimes South Africa really confuses me, alot.

Driving to work today I was listening to some radio station, might have been Jacaranda or Highveld (no laughing). They were discussing the recent clampdown from metro cops on traffic offenders. People are being taken to jail for crossing solid lines, driving in emergency lanes and other offences.

This is brilliant. I am all for it. Start with the little things and the ripple effect will be vast.

What gets my goat is that the SA public are never satisfied. The cops are damned if they do and damned if they don’t. It seems to me that South Africans are happy to call for the police to put the taxi drivers in jail for driving in emergency lanes. Yet when a fat cat driving his Mercedes is taken to task for the same offence they put it on the radio.

This is what I have to say: Shut up and drive. Let the Metro Police do their jobs whether it effects you or not stay out of it when they are actually doing something right.

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