Be careful, drive defensively

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Shonver

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I nearly got taken out yesterday afternoon.

Where the N2 highway passes through Strand/Somerset West->Sir Lowry's Pass, the speed limit comes right down to 70km/hr. There are robots and other side roads. In one section the road narrows to a single lane. Just outside of this stretch, as one approaches Sir Lowry's Pass, there is a dirt road off to the right with the sign Elandskloof. This is where I found myself yesterday: stopped in the right-hand lane with my right turn indicator on, waiting for a gap in the oncoming traffic. I was well clear of the traffic behind me. In my rear-view mirror I saw a car approaching from behind, the lead car in the next wave of vehicles. It had its headlights on. Good, I thought (I do that, too). But this car was accelerating hard (now hitting open highway) and it was in my lane. Problem was, the driver did not appear to have spotted me ahead! No sign of slowing down, no change of lane! I had to take quick action. I had no alternative but to pull away fast, barge into an unsafe gap in the oncoming traffic and dash over the road. While I was taking this evasive action, I saw the car finally swerve. It would have been too late! Had I remained in that spot he would either have hit me or have had to swerve so hard that he would probably have ended up in the ditch on the side of the road.

Lesson: drive defensively.

Mind what you're doing, but also try to read & anticipate the actions of fellow road users, as well as the road conditions.

Tip: use your headlights (not parking lamps) to make yourself more visible on the road.

I always drive with my headlights on to make me more visible to other road users. In this case, the same practise by another road user helped me to spot a potentially fatal impending road incident. I'm not so sure that I would have been here today had that other driver not had his headlights turned on, as my concern at the time was to find the gap in the oncoming traffic flow.

I hope that my experience will convince other drivers to do this.
 
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