Rapunzel Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 Hello Mr Africa I plucked up the courage to cycle down Bottelary Rd today, less than a week since the death of Greg Basson in a hit and run incident involving a drunk driver. He wasn’t the first or last fatality and they are so frequent these days, the victims seldom feature in anything more than an obituary column or a brief stint on social media.…So when I came across these traffic officials sitting in the shade next to Bottelary Rd with their camera in one of the lowest accident locations, I took the liberty of pulling over and asking them some questions which were pointedly avoided:Do speed traps catch drunk drivers?Do speed traps catch unlicensed vehicles and drivers?Do speed traps catch people performing any moving violation other than speeding?Do speed traps catch people texting and driving? Mr traffic officer on the left (other than continuously accusing me of sitting in an air conditioned office all day which is neither relevant nor true) is adamant that speeding is the number 1 cause of accidents on our roads, and therefore his clearly strenuous job is making a difference. I pointed out that drunk driving was an underlying factor in most accidents involving cyclists so why are they making no attempt to address this issue. Interestingly (as was reflected in some comments you made when being interviewed on Cape Talk recently), he told me to locate these drivers and report them. He also stated that there is only one team in the western cape which is capable of setting up road blocks. I can find so much wrong with this situation. There is something profoundly broken with the Western Cape Traffic Department and it’s officials. I would rather be passed by a competent driver going 30km/h over the speed limit than having to share the road with drunk drivers, texting drivers, unlicensed drivers or reckless drivers. Speed traps catch none of them and they continue to turn our roads into death traps while traffic officials sit under trees or behind bushes and stare on with impunity. So the million dollar question is: what is the Western Cape Traffic Department doing to make our roads safer for cyclists? Yours sincerely
bikebloke Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 more valid points in this letter than in any the PPA wrote this week well done
MTBeer Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 Well done Repunzel, but farting against thunder I fear.
City Cycling Athletic Club Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 Mr Africa will be on tv, radio and in print media just prior to the easter weekend carnage making promises that he has no hope in hell of keeping to make the roads safe for road users.
Bloukrans Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks and well done Rapunzel We all need to send him an email pleading for urgent intervention on this issue. They are all talk and no action. We need to hold them accountable. Do you havd his email address. Be safe out there boys and girls!!
Spirog Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 We need to keep the pressure up on the officials who can make a change happen. Politicians are only concerned about keeping their jobs. So if we make them look bad, they have to be seen to be doing something. Great letter Rapunzel. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Rapunzel Posted February 3, 2017 Author Posted February 3, 2017 Hello Mr Africa I plucked up the courage to cycle down Bottelary Rd today, less than a week since the death of Greg Basson in a hit and run incident involving a drunk driver. He wasn’t the first or last fatality and they are so frequent these days, the victims seldom feature in anything more than an obituary column or a brief stint on social media.…So when I came across these traffic officials sitting in the shade next to Bottelary Rd with their camera in one of the lowest accident locations, I took the liberty of pulling over and asking them some questions which were pointedly avoided:Do speed traps catch drunk drivers?Do speed traps catch unlicensed vehicles and drivers?Do speed traps catch people performing any moving violation other than speeding?Do speed traps catch people texting and driving? Mr traffic officer on the left (other than continuously accusing me of sitting in an air conditioned office all day which is neither relevant nor true) is adamant that speeding is the number 1 cause of accidents on our roads, and therefore his clearly strenuous job is making a difference. I pointed out that drunk driving was an underlying factor in most accidents involving cyclists so why are they making no attempt to address this issue. Interestingly (as was reflected in some comments you made when being interviewed on Cape Talk recently), he told me to locate these drivers and report them. He also stated that there is only one team in the western cape which is capable of setting up road blocks. I can find so much wrong with this situation. There is something profoundly broken with the Western Cape Traffic Department and it’s officials. I would rather be passed by a competent driver going 30km/h over the speed limit than having to share the road with drunk drivers, texting drivers, unlicensed drivers or reckless drivers. Speed traps catch none of them and they continue to turn our roads into death traps while traffic officials sit under trees or behind bushes and stare on with impunity. So the million dollar question is: what is the Western Cape Traffic Department doing to make our roads safer for cyclists? Yours sincerelyI got an extremely quick response with a personal phone call from Kenny Africa. He has explained that the City of Cape Town traffic department does not fall under his jurisdiction, nor would he tolerate the behavior of this traffic officer if he were part of the provincial traffic services.He will forward this query to the relevant city authorities and I will post responses.Kudos Kenny Africa
Griffin Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 Well done Rapunzel... and well done Mr Africa. Seldom do we see officials taking the time to reply.. and even more worrying seldom do we see citizens wiling to take a stand. Kudo's to both of you. We can only hope that he relevant city authorities have the same backbone to reply with a well thought out, applicable and reasonable answer or actionable solution
Prince Albert Cycles Posted February 3, 2017 Posted February 3, 2017 Rapunzel if you ever visit Prince Albert pse contact me I owe you a bottle of Bells .
GheeThee Posted November 7, 2017 Posted November 7, 2017 Hi Rapunzel, i was one of the first on the scene that day and helped Gregs mate of the ground. I need the contact details of the chief please inbox me, too many trucks parked in yellow lanes, yesterday a guy was nearly killed on giel basson, his paralysed from the waste down , and avid cycler he has just completed w2w and rides the epic
LeoKnight Posted November 7, 2017 Posted November 7, 2017 Hi Rapunzel, i was one of the first on the scene that day and helped Gregs mate of the ground. I need the contact details of the chief please inbox me, too many trucks parked in yellow lanes, yesterday a guy was nearly killed on giel basson, his paralysed from the waste down , and avid cycler he has just completed w2w and rides the epic Flip, hope he is ok under the circumstances (medical costs, support, etc). Where on Giel Basson did this occur, it really hits home when you hear about an accident on the same road that we sometimes ride on.
Allrounder Posted November 7, 2017 Posted November 7, 2017 Hi Rapunzel, i was one of the first on the scene that day and helped Gregs mate of the ground. I need the contact details of the chief please inbox me, too many trucks parked in yellow lanes, yesterday a guy was nearly killed on giel basson, his paralysed from the waste down , and avid cycler he has just completed w2w and rides the epic Do you have more details?
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