This column is intended to help drivers who are new to Grahamstown – to those of you who have been around a while, well, you may still find it amusing.
This column is intended to help drivers who are new to Grahamstown – to those of you who have been around a while, well, you may still find it amusing.
Driving in Makana is very different from driving around in big cities such as Ekurhuleni, or eThekwini, for a number of obvious reasons – mainly related to the much lower traffic density. This means that instead of having to leave home 50 minutes before starting work, you can usually get to the furthest reaches of town in less than 15 minutes.
In Johannesburg, if any one of 71 462 cars on the same route as you has a puncture, or… heavens, a fender bender… you can safely add on an extra 20 minutes to your driving time. In Grahamstown, if any of the 12 cars on your route has a puncture or a fender bender, you can probably add on… say… an extra 20 micro-second that you waste slowing down to look at the poor sucker.
When people in Grahamstown say they got “stuck in terrible traffic this morning”, they mean they had to stop at the robot in front the Cathedral for at least two minutes. There are many interesting consequences of the lower traffic density such as: you spend less money on petrol; you hardly ever listen to the radio and you are not worried about what your vehicle says about your image.
There are other differences between driving experiences here and in the big cities. For example, in Grahamstown there are traffic cops who actually deal with traffic issues – they direct traffic; monitor pedestrian crossings and fine drivers for contravening laws. In fact you cannot claim to be a local resident until you have been fined by our most famous traffic officer, Terence Bafo.
In Johannesburg, where traffic lights often don’t work, and where even when they do it is merely for decorative purposes, I have driven hundreds of kilometres at a time without ever seeing a traffic officer. There is also a down side to driving in these parts.
For example, when they build speed humps in Grahamstown, they try to rebuild the famous Makanskop Hill in the middle of the street, so you go through suspension systems at an alarming rate. Parking is not a problem in most parts of Makana, but in the centre of town, where it can sometimes be difficult, there are car guards who have peculiar little machines that always tell you that you owe peculiar little amounts, like R1.15.
Everyone knows that not a single official will be able to give 85 cents change and, even if they do, it will take them so long to find the bitty little coins that you just get bored and drive off in a huff. One of the most challenging aspects of driving in these parts is learning to miss the pedestrians.
First of all, remember that some zebra crossings (but not all) have to be respected. For example, the crossings on High, Hill and Somerset Streets are totally owned by pedestrians, and you have to stop for them.
But if you stop for a pedestrian on Beaufort Street in the area around the police station, you will probably cause an accident – either a taxi will veer into you from the other side of the road, or you might just as easily be rear-ended.
On Bathurst, Somerset and High Streets you can usually expect pedestrians to wander out into the middle of the road at any time. These pedestrians will not look before crossing – so be warned. So there you have it, and remember to buckle up, Bafo is watching you.
