Cape Town danger areas

[tubed]

I can't comment on this specific incident. This specific riding group is generally very compliant, lots of very experienced rider in it.

What I can say is that there are multiples more road users nowadays than when the road was designed laid out and the lanes and lines were painted. I think it needs a big review, the speed is 60 (I think it used to be 70), but they need to stop the speeding.

Most of the cycling groups are reasonably well self managed, but their speeds are at times also quite scary. Riding outside of the yellow line is looking for trouble (just ride the Miciti bus to see what that poor driver has to do when you do that to him/ her, its really unfair).

The big newcomer to the mix is the very large running groups on a Saturday, they fill the yellow lane and more. Its going to become a problem.

In short, clean up the road, warning signage, stop the speeding. 

 

[tubed]

And one more simple fix, in Bakoven across the road from the Bootlegger, put those yellow sticks on the pavement to stop the inconsiderate arseholes parking there to get a coffee.

Problem solved, buses and cars can pass, no need to send manpower to issue fines. Easy fix. Lives saved.

*spelling

Edited April 8 by tubed

[DJR]

Sorry to say, but the only solution I see is to separate cyclists and cars/buses/taxis physically. Practical? Perhaps not, but I have given up on the pipedream of drivers changing their bad aggressive behaviour.

In my neck of the woods, the Cape Town Southern Suburbs, it seems that the taxis, Ubers and 60/60 delivery motorbikes are now the dominant factor along Main Road. Skipping red traffic lights is standard practice, as is using no indicators, blocking intersections, cutting others off, parking wherever you feel like, stopping to pick up or drop passengers anywhere convenient, in total disregard of the rules of the road or common sense. All this while the law is absent. Even the Constantia soccer moms in their Range Rovers are learning from them ........ with dead and maimed cyclists the result.

[Zebra]

Police request for eyewitness information wrt recent accident on Coastal Road:

[Mamil]

5 hours ago, DJR said:

Sorry to say, but the only solution I see is to separate cyclists and cars/buses/taxis physically. Practical? Perhaps not, but I have given up on the pipedream of drivers changing their bad aggressive behaviour.

In my neck of the woods, the Cape Town Southern Suburbs, it seems that the taxis, Ubers and 60/60 delivery motorbikes are now the dominant factor along Main Road. Skipping red traffic lights is standard practice, as is using no indicators, blocking intersections, cutting others off, parking wherever you feel like, stopping to pick up or drop passengers anywhere convenient, in total disregard of the rules of the road or common sense. All this while the law is absent. Even the Constantia soccer moms in their Range Rovers are learning from them ........ with dead and maimed cyclists the result.

I actually can't see things improving on any time horizon. There is clearly minimal political will to take NMT seriously and perhaps also a lack of competence in that domain too.

Walking anywhere in the city with one or two notable exceptions is very difficult and often dangerous, riding a bicycle we can all tell that story and live it everytime we go for a ride and if you've ever tried to push a wheelchair around town you'll know that the more vulnerable you are as a user of pub lic space the less the design and implementation of infrastructure caters to your needs and the harder and more dangerous it is.

There's a woman in a wheelchair at the robot on Durban and Liesbeek parkway most evenings and I've seen her barelling down Durban road with all the skill of a downhill racer and all the disregard for the rules of a taxi driver and I say "GO GIRL"

[Simply Cotic]

IMO moving violations need to be top of the agenda.

Give metro cops a monthly target / incentive to stop motorists who blatantly break the rules. Get stopped going through a red robot / crossing a solid line / dangerous overtake; and the motorist gets a huge spot fine. As in payable on the spot. If he/she can’t; vehicle gets impounded. 
(In Western Europe a while back, traffic cops got 10% of the fine, if you were caught drunk driving. Not sure if still in effect) 

But we need change, as the same playbook isn’t getting results. 

[Robbie Stewart]

5 minutes ago, Simply Cotic said:

IMO moving violations need to be top of the agenda.

Give metro cops a monthly target / incentive to stop motorists who blatantly break the rules. Get stopped going through a red robot / crossing a solid line / dangerous overtake; and the motorist gets a huge spot fine. As in payable on the spot. If he/she can’t; vehicle gets impounded. 
(In Western Europe a while back, traffic cops got 10% of the fine, if you were caught drunk driving. Not sure if still in effect) 

But we need change, as the same playbook isn’t getting results. 

Novel idea but impractically implemented in South Africa given the propensity for corruption. The flip side to your proposal is the absolute spike in false fines and convictions once the police get incentivised to do their work. They simply can't be trusted.

[Robbie Stewart]

7 hours ago, tubed said:

I'm no roads engineer, but what in essence has happened here is that there is a stream which passes beneath the road and over the years the stream has put soil next to the road and the bushes and soil has all but covered the width of the yellow line, this forces the runners and cyclists into the road. At the same time is at the end of a long straight for each lane and then goes into an S bend. The vegetation and slope make it nearly impossible to see the oncoming traffic.

So a few years ago in the 'burb where I live there was an open field across the street that bordered against open veld towards Melkbos. It wasn't long for Port Jackson to take over that field, which became hiding place for burglars. Garden Cities, the owners of the land were asked time and again to clear the field, to no avail.

One morning the message was shared on the street committee that one of the houses opposite the field was burgled in broad daylight, and no surprises where the burglars came out from. 

That same day I volunteered on the street committee to go buy a can of petrol and fix the port Jackson problem once and for all. 

The next day that field saw no more port Jackson trees growing there. 

Just saying, you know 😉

[Simply Cotic]

3 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Novel idea but impractically implemented in South Africa given the propensity for corruption. The flip side to your proposal is the absolute spike in false fines and convictions once the police get incentivised to do their work. They simply can't be trusted.

You could include the need for body cam or vehicle footage for the offence to be punishable. 
Not easy I know. In Jhb the guys don’t often wear name tags, and that is a tell that they are in the mood for a negotiation, as opposed to just issuing a fine. 
But any improvement to road safety is a long way away. 
As cyclists we need to understand that we operate in a third world country, with 4th world mentality. The comments in some of the media posts affirm that we are looked upon as privileged, or fair game. 
 

[ChrisF]

15 minutes ago, Robbie Stewart said:

Novel idea but impractically implemented in South Africa given the propensity for corruption. The flip side to your proposal is the absolute spike in false fines and convictions once the police get incentivised to do their work. They simply can't be trusted.

 

Dash cam .... (in my car)

 

. Keep cops in line

. Handy reluable witness in accidents ... (saw a bakkie jump a red light, passed on the footage to the lady he T-boned .... insurance stopped tap dancing)

[BenReaper]

On 4/7/2026 at 2:26 PM, Week-end_Warrior said:

Just shared on Facebook. Condolences to the family and all affected

RIP fellow cyclist and condolences to his family and friends!😔

It seems like nowhere is safe anymore. Even here in the platteland my local cycling group have had a few close calls with hit and runs on the open roads outside town.

Unfortunately a few of them have been fatal, the latest being a local legend passing on in early December.

This is around Worcester, on all roads coming in and going out of town.

[The Ouzo]

something I saw an FB and modified for SA use.
it might not solve the problem, but if it gets through to a handful of people then job done

[Solly Moeng]

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cycling-road-culture-respect-why-south-africa-must-relearn-moeng-qxmsf

[Baracuda]

I am aware that this may sound outlandish at first, but I really think they should install sets of double speedbumps in this area, as well as on Chappies. 
I cycle these routes regularly, and the motorbikes, taxis, busses, Porsche group, and general sports car groups use these areas as though they were race tracks, which is dangerous to all, including themselves. I know of Porsche drivers and passengers killed on these routes. 
We have recently been doing a fair bit of work in the Port St Johns area in the Eastern Cape, where taxis, buses, and all ran riot, and people and livestock were regularly killed. They have installed double speed bumps every 500m down the twisty passes, even halfway around a corner. It is absolute pain, especially in terms of travel time, as your average speed drops massively. But all the taxis need to slow to walking pace to go over them, and barely get up to speed between them. 
They also have similar speed bumps in areas of Kenya to slow down large, fast, long-distance buses as they descend mountain passes or pass through villages, and it works. 
It is a drastic measure, but it does really slow down all the mad drivers. 

 

 

 

[Shebeen]

3 hours ago, Solly Moeng said:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cycling-road-culture-respect-why-south-africa-must-relearn-moeng-qxmsf

great post Solly - came here to share it.

[Prince Albert Cycles]

3 hours ago, Solly Moeng said:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cycling-road-culture-respect-why-south-africa-must-relearn-moeng-qxmsf

Excellent.