Driving in South Africa

As many of you know, I drive to and from work every day here in South Africa, and I drive on the other side of the road (namely left).  Finding an automatic car was difficult; I even tried driving my employer's manual car (in a field, and then on this small loop of roads that a teenager and parent were also using for driving that day), but it wasn't particularly successful.  Thankfully we decided that the stress of driving on the wrong side of the road was enough, let alone learning to drive a manual.  So now I have my 2002 (I think) grey Renault Laguna.  Wouldn't be my first colour choice for sure, and it's a little slow to change gears sometimes, but it gets me to and from work. 

Driving on the wrong side of the road was very stressful at first.  Thankfully I had been a passenger for about a month before driving here so I was used to riding on the left at least.  Actually when I first arrived, my employer waited at the back of the car for me to choose which side of the car to get in.  He didn't trick me; I was concentrating too hard on getting it right.  I have definitely walked to the wrong side of the car though, usually when alone, and always when preoccupied with something else. 

I live very close to two of the therapists I work with, so when I first started driving here, they let me follow them home everyday and then came to pick me up in the morning so I could follow them to work.  That definitely helped so I didn't have to concentrate on the directions and when to change lanes, and just focus on actually staying in the lane.  I'm a lot more comfortable now, and don't find driving in South Africa too hard.  My friends here have asked if I've adapted to the crazy Johannesburg drivers.  I haven't found them all too crazy.  Usually the only crazy ones are taxi drivers.  The taxis here are actually minibuses that pick and drop off passengers pretty much anywhere.  So when driving, you just need to be aware that they will stop anywhere, cut you off, and honk for no apparent reason.  Once you've accepted that fact, driving is a lot easier and you don't get upset (usually).  Another strange thing here is that people don't usually stop for pedestrians.  Here, pedestrians are usually the ones who stop for cars.  I was actually honked at once for stopping for a pedestrian.  I have found though that sometimes drivers here are a lot nicer than they would be in Canada or the United States.  For example, they stop to give way to people when they find that it would be impossible for them to turn right (remember turning right here is the one where you cross oncoming traffic).  Finally, another strange sight on South African roads for me was the "bakkie" (pronounced "bucky", means pickup truck) full of people.  Workers often ride to and from work in the back of pickup trucks.  It's occasionally awkward when you stop behind them at a red light (aka robot) and they're all staring at you.  I asked my South African friends what to do in this situation and they said that they didn't know and also found it awkward.

That's it so far for my South African driving experience!  Hoping it will continue to be smooth and without accidents!

My car

Steering wheel on the right!!!!

Minibus taxi picture from Google