HEAVY DUTY ROAD OBSTACLES

Our load shedding being suspended for now, a clear run to work was expected. However, some of the casualties of the electricity constantly being switched on and off are traffic lights, some of which stop working. There was a queue of traffic getting out of Roodepoort as two traffic lights were out on a main exit from the area. After changing route, I managed to get past that obstacle and the way was clear...until I hit the highway. 

After a few kilometres, traffic starting backing up. There was an obstacle in the middle of the highway causing a traffic jam, with the highway clear beyond it. I couldn't see what it was but as I got closer, I noticed a bakkie (pickup) with a trailer which had broken throwing the weird contraption on it onto and across 3 lanes of the highway. There were scrape marks from the contraption in the tar as the driver had come to a stop. There didn't seem to be any injuries fortunately and after driving slowly for a few minutes, I was past the obstacle. 

When I was much younger, in my teens, heavy duty trucks were not allowed on the roads in peak traffic hours. They were forced to park off on the side of the road to allow for free flowing traffic. Now however, its a free for all on the roads. Even on arterial roads, trucks and delivery vehicles of every size are intermingled with regular road users, making for a stressful driving experience.

A month or so back, I did something foolish. I was on the offramp to Malibongwe Drive and ducked in front of a heavy duty truck as a gap opened. Even though he wasn't driving very fast, he battled to stop behind me and had to veer to the side to avoid hitting me. I got blasted by his hooter in the driver's frustration at having a sudden emergency situation. I only realised my foolhardiness afterwards and vowed not to do something so foolish again. 

I do notice cars often zipping around heavy and heavily loaded trucks without any care or regard and I believe that the below infographic is very helpful in informing other drivers of how to navigate heavy vehicles.

Be safe out on the roads today and avoid the heavy road obstacles...