A
significant amount of the working class has to deal with one of the most hated
and dreaded tasks daily……first thing in the morning…before they get to the
office….TRAFFIC.
Very
few people have flowery words to describe it. The rest of us detest it strongly
to the extent that it is one of the strongest motivation for us sticking to our
religious upbringing…to avoid the huge volumes of traffic in hell.
How do
you sail through traffic without being violated, sworn at, hooted at, cut-off,
given the finger or working yourself halfway to a fury-driven heart attack?
It is
possible to sail through traffic unscathed and here’s how. A couple of months
ago, I heard an article on the radio, which changed the way I look at traffic,
and must admit that since then I’ve learnt to embrace being stuck in traffic as
an integral part of my day, which I now quite enjoy….and will soon be upgraded
to one of the things I look forward to.
How you might ask. Well, I’m one of millions of moms who
do the school run. I now use the drive as the bonding time with my kids.
I now switch off the car radio…sorry 947…and slotted in critiquing my
children’s speeches, discussions of the school day, friends, and songs learnt
at school etc. There are even days when I get upset if traffic flows too
smoothly. The more gridlocked, the longer I’m locked up and cozy with my two
kids, getting to familiarise ourselves with each other’s day, playing in-car
games etc. I love it.
Not
everyone is lucky enough to be in traffic with their children so how do we
solve the traffic-induced stress problem? Back to the story I heard on the radio. It was a woman who
was imploring the public to be mindful of other motorists. She was basically
saying, if someone is rushing, there most probably is a very valid reason, and we
ought to let them pass. She told the story of how she lost her child who was
distressed. She tried to rush the child to hospital, but despite hooting,
flashing, and frantic gesturing, fellow motorist would not let her through (some even hurling insults)
and the child died just as she got to the hospital entrance. It was a really
sad story especially coming from the mother.
How then do we condition ourselves to be good motorists?
Well, as the subsequent radio discussions taught me…imagine every rushing motorist
to be a mom in distress…and you will have mastered the art of in-traffic
tolerance.
I once experienced the discomfort of exchanging road
unpleasantries with a fellow motorist on a Sunday morning, only to meet them 15
minutes later… at church! Well, the good thing that came out of it is I learnt
that road rage itself, is good people spreading negative vibes of hatred, animosity
& loathing to fellow human beings. Why can’t we spread smiles, after-yous,
be-my-guests, I apologise, waves & good days?…little unseen angels.
In the South African context, in Johannesburg specifically, one can’t help but wonder at the complete intolerance and dislike of public taxis. These are multitudes of fleets of quantums and combis which carry the majority of the car-less working class from the townships en mass to their places of work. The taxi drivers are notorious for stopping everywhere, anywhere, when the mood fits, disregarding traffic rules, unashamedly violating all & sundry and being vile, rude and belligerent road bullies. I used to hate them too, but now I’m indifferent. I actually view them as the “it-guys” who rush the cleaning and tea ladies to the office ahead of us so that when we get there, the office is neat, clean and there is a fresh cup of coffee waiting (not to say the taxis are only for cleaning and tea stuff). Once I started thinking like that, I’m always happy to let them through and don't mind their road weaving antics.
Another way, that a lot of motorists don’t realise raises other people’s blood pressure, is driving slowly in the faster lanes. If going slow...use the slow lane. Leaving a huge gap between you and the car in front of you (over and above the safe following distance), while everyone is clearly pilling up behind you is clearly disregarding fellow motorists because believe it or not, it infuriates the people behind you. It is less insulting to people if you are in the slow lane so if you are having a leisurely drive (especially during peak times) stick to the slow lane.
There is the overly kind driver. Give way, but don’t overdo it because this might enrage the ones behind you. Please be alert if you are going to answer the phone in traffic. Because even if it’s hands-free, some motorists forget they are in traffic and forget to move etc.
An all too common hilarious situation, lets own up, is feeling
bullied by the big SUVs and bakkies. A big car barreling down the highway
behind you seems, though largely unintended, as if the car is bullying you into
changing lanes. Calm down,… brawn doesn’t necessarily mean bully.
To beat the traffic
When stuck in bumper to bumper traffic the best way to get through is by wading through it. When your lane starts moving while neighbouring lanes are stationery, keep going, and as soon as you realise that your lane is about to come to a halt, change lanes. Your new lane will start moving etc. My husband normally falls into the trap of switching lanes at the wrong time…he joins the neighbouring lane just as it halts, and finds to his dismay that the lane he just left starts moving leaving him twenty cars behind. Much to my annoyance...(but inwardly... I find this adorable).
Another lesson learnt for spending an average 90 minutes in traffic (on a good day) is that the 'fast' lane isn’t necessarily the fastest during peak time. With the stop-starts of peak hour traffic, the fast lane experiences sudden halts which have a terrible traffic-slowing ripple effect that renders it not so fast. To be avoided.
Another neat little trick is to join the slow lane when approaching an off-ramp,… and to avoid it when approaching an on-ramp.
And no matter how good you feel at the end of the office day, the drive back home can suck the last bit of energy out of you. All you want to do is plonk into the couch and like father Jack would say .......
