Merely obey the speed limit

A. Hoffmann writes:
 
DEAR Mr El Vaquerito, If you would leave the maximum speed for everyone’s one judgment we would have total chaos on our streets! It is bad as it is. Too many people think that they can handle a high speed, but they can’t. I totally support the new fines and speed traps on our roads. If you don’t want to pay them, drive slower. As simple as this!

Our national roads are much too narrow for speeds above 120km/h as it is, except for some parts of the newly renovated sections between Okahandja and Karibib. And even there animals can suddenly jump on to the road out of the bush or a tyre can burst causing a car to overturn. How can you react if you are driving 150km/h or even faster?

Start your trip half an hour earlier and drive slower. You will be amazed how relaxed you will be at your destination because you don’t have to cramp behind your steering wheel and just stare on the road in front of you! I would totally support the idea of each person wanting to go for his/her driver’s licence to prove that he/she had a certain amount of official driving lessons at an acknowledged driving school with properly trained persons, like it is overseas! We would certainly have much less accidents then!

Certainly speed trapping is NOT the main cause of traffic accidents in this country. Wreckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol is! Empty beer bottles next to our national roads prove how many people think it is cool to stop for a beer and drive on. I would also support a points system, where repeated offenders get points entered in a computer data base. After a certain amount of points your driver’s license is than taken away from you for a certain time or for ever, depending on the points and offences you have.

And don’t be caught driving while your license is taken in! Maybe this would get people better under control. Freedom doesn’t mean that you can do what you want, Sir. It means that every citizen must help to carry the burden of responsible citizenship which leads to the well-being of a country. It means discipline, hard work and obeying and respecting the laws in the country. Only then everyone can enjoy the meaning of “freedom for all”.