Ever
wondered what it is like to drive in Africa?
I can speak from experience when I say it is never boring! Thankfully South Africa is a relatively tame
place to drive compared to the rest of the continent, but it is still an
adventure every time you start your car.
The
standard speed limit for rural roads, highways, and motorways (freeways) is 120
kilometers per hour, or about 75 mph.
That can be nerve racking when you realize most roads here are just two
lanes with mminimal shoulders and no median. Because many of the older vehicles and trucks
can’t manage 120 k/h they end up going much slower, which leads to frequent
passing. People in South Africa pass
with abandon – curves in the road and oncoming traffic pose little
hindrance. They even pass multiple
vehicles in one go. Once, I started to
pull out to pass a slow vehicle in front of me only to realize a car coming up
beside me in the process of passing the cars behind me, my car, and the truck
in front of us. Now when I want to pass
I not only look ahead for oncoming traffic, but also behind for vehicles that
might be passing me.
Because
of the dangers involved in frequent passing, many slow vehicles will helpfully
drive along on the shoulder rather than on the road so people can easily wiz by
them. Or, they will move over onto the
shoulder (without slowing down) if someone wants to get by. This works well when there is a large
shoulder, but gets exciting when the same thing is happening in both
directions. A two lane road effectively
turns into a four lane road! This can be
quite dangerous when obstructions are present on the shoulder.
Now,
imagine all this passing and driving on the shoulder occurring while people are
walking along and even crossing the road, donkey carts are trotting along the
shoulder, and cows and goats are grazing on the sides of the road and in the
medians when they exist. Second, add in potholes. They can be 6-8 inches deep and vary in width
from a few inches to several feet.
Dodging them is often impossible due to their sheer number and frequency
and they can come up on you pretty fast at 120 k/h.
Finally,
imagine all this is going on in the dark at night! Street lights are rare so it can be pitch
black. The livestock are especially a
risk at night when the donkeys are not being used to pull carts and are
released to graze. Hitting a donkey at
120 k/h is a big risk. You will be glad
to hear I avoid driving after dark as much as is realistically possible. Even in the daytime, it feels like I’m
driving in a Nintendo game.
Another
fun variable in the driving game is the robot (stop light). They are often placed off to the side of the
roads, rather than overhead, so I frequently don’t see them until I’m almost in
the intersection. It doesn’t help that
they often have at least one of the colors not working so it may be only the
absence of a green light that tells you to stop since the red isn’t
working. Or, all the lights may be out
in that intersection and you revert to a four way stop. The radio traffic updates even report robot
outages as people call them in during the morning and evening commutes.
Despite
all this, I realize that it is indeed a blessing to drive here in South Africa
where almost all of the roads are paved and where traffic laws exist and are generally
followed. It could be much more exiting!
On
a more personal note, I’ve finally finished most of my to do list now with
internet set up, a bank account started, the house starting to feel like a
home, car bought and insured, and everything unpacked. Thank you for all of your
prayers! Settling in to my new home has
been much smoother than I could have hoped.
I’m
starting to get a feel for the clinic (mid-July) and have moved my lab coats
and stethoscope into my new office. Next month, I’ll be able to share more
about the clinic, but keep an eye on my Facebook page in the meantime.
