Dr Peter Hammond, Pinelands
Yesterday I had the unpleasant experience of having a speeding motorist screech his four-wheel-drive bakkie to an abrupt halt and race back in reverse so fast and recklessly, that we had to jump out the way in fear that we may be hit.
As he wound down his window, the driver started swearing aggressively, because I had waved in a downward motion for him to slow down.
You would have thought that we had endangered his life, rather than the other way around.
He maintained that he had the right to go 60km/h, despite it being a narrow and busy side street, with a number of contractors and residents discussing a project.
Whenever I see pedestrians on, or near, the road, I always slow down, especially if there are children, or pets, near the road.
This angry driver was irate that anyone could suggest that he should slow down, as he believed that it was his right to travel at 60 km/* , no matter what the conditions on the side road were.
My understanding is that while we may go up to a maximum of 60km/h, that is in ideal conditions. If there are pedestrians, or pets, on the road, surely, we should slow down in the interest of safety.
As we have two young grandchildren staying at our home and have lost a number of precious pets to speeding drivers down our side road, is it too much to request drivers to be responsible, careful and respectful?
