Cyclist down Camps Bay

[DieselnDust]

On 1/29/2026 at 10:41 AM, babse said:

 

Classic case of driver impatience / can’t-give-aphuqniss. That could so easily have ended in tragedy and just as easily have been avoided. It appears easier to gain a PDP than finish the fun ride world champs short route.

[DieselnDust]

On 1/29/2026 at 1:19 PM, J Wakefield said:

Oncoming car at the same time

Brake pedals are there for a reason

[Patchelicious]

I don’t think the deterrent for drunk driving is primarily law enforcement or harsher punishment. It’s societal.

I’ve spent the last eight or so years in Europe and the UK. In that time, the number of people I know who have driven after more than one beer is basically zero. The number of random police stops I’ve seen for drink-driving checks is also basically zero.

Contrast that with South Africa. We have roadblocks everywhere, many of them explicitly targeting drunk drivers. SAPS even publishes weekend stats on how many drunk drivers they catch. And if you hit and kill a cyclist while drunk, you’re almost certainly spending at least a few nights in prison. Anyone here who has even a vague idea of what a South African prison is like knows that one night in Pollsmoor is not a light consequence. It’s a serious deterrent. There were even TV adverts disgustingly implying this at one stage.

Yet people still drink and drive.

That tells you the issue isn’t enforcement or consequences. It’s culture.

In most developed countries, drink-driving is socially unacceptable. Your friends would stop you. Your partner would stop you. You’d be judged hard for even suggesting it. That social pressure does far more than a roadblock ever will.

In South Africa, we don’t have that broadly shared social norm. Cyclists, by and large, sit in the upper economic brackets. The majority of South Africans are impoverished, disconnected from cycling as a concept, and frankly don’t care about cyclists or drink-driving. You can shout for stricter enforcement all you want, but it’s not going to move the needle in a society where the behaviour itself isn’t socially discouraged.

That’s the uncomfortable reality.

So what can we actually control? Ourselves.

Ride defensively. Assume drivers don’t see you. Take the lane if it makes for a temporary safer situtation, like that stretch by Camps/Bakoven. Even roll a light if it genuinely reduces risk. But if you do those things, acknowledge the drivers that it affects. A wave. A thumbs up. A thank you when someone gives you space. Keep the motorist onside. Positively reenforce them being extra considerate to cyclists.

Unfortunately cyclists in South Africa have a real brand problem. You can debate whether that’s fair or justified or how much that actually increases injury or deaths, but pretending it doesn’t exist helps no one. Go read the comment sections on social media of this accidents. Most motorists don’t care about “entitled cyclists,” and arguing with them about cyclists rights won’t change that.

Behaviour will.

Some cyclists ride like absolute idiots. Just yesterday on the Jonkers road two MTBers riding side by side on that road almost got hit as they wobbled around as a driver tried to pass them, if they did they would 100% have been to blame from what I witnessed. Needless to say when they got hooted at, they swore at the motorist. That behaviour doesn’t just endanger them. It increases risk for everyone else who rides responsibly. We have a collective responsibility to not make things worse.

Ride defensively. Protect yourself. But also be a considerate road user. Gratitude costs nothing, and it does more to change perceptions than any rant about rights ever will.

Edited February 2 by Patchelicious

[Wannabe]

Returning from Idries Sheriff's memorial ride yesterday, I lost count of the number of cyclists that just blew past me whilst I'm stationary at red traffic lights, happily chatting amongst each other whilst riding over the red traffic light. This happened from the first traffic light at the Municipal Swimming pools, all the way down to where I turned off at the Virgin Active.

And I'm quite sure many of them were part of the memorial ride.