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My wife and I explored the Western Cape's West Coast over the 2010 Easter Weekend (for the full story, click here). Driving north out of Cape Town on route 27 (the R27, also known as the "West Coast Road"), we were amazed, shocked and taken aback by the bad behaviour, lack of consideration and sheer incompetence shown by other drivers on this road.

Langebaan Lagoon in the West Coast National Park

Perhaps naively, we stuck to the speed limit (120 km/h) and were continually having to pull over to allow some grossly-overloaded vehicle to come screaming past us at an insane speed. Most of these were huge 4-wheel drive recreational vehicles, but also included the usual smattering of Mercedes and BMW saloon cars. These drivers showed no respect for the speed limit nor any consideration for others on the road who were also trying to get to their long weekend destination in one piece - it was simply a case of "I'm on the road, I don't care about you, just get out of my way".

What will it take for people to understand the concept of SAFE DRIVING? Not just for themselves, but for the innocent people around them (pedestrians as well as motorists)? I'm afraid it boils down to attitude - the selfish, aggressive and arrogant "I'm more important than you" attitude that is causing carnage on South African roads.