4x4s Are Not For Everyone
We're on the N1 highway [*] heading back to Cape Town, right at the point at which the R300 (another freeway that's not as much of a freeway as the N1) joins the N1 freeway [*], all the bridges crisscross overhead, and the Kuils River flows under the road network. The traffic has come to a standstill and is backed up for kilometres because they are still working on the highway re-taring it (this has been going on for over a year) further ahead, so the middle lane has been closed and the traffic is being directed past on either side.
Because of the weird way that the roads all join, avoiding the river, there is a triangular-shaped patch of open ground between the highway and where the R300 joins. The traffic is flowing a little more freely from the R300 onto the freeway than along the freeway itself before heading into the section with the closed middle lane, which is up next. Some dumbass in a Land Rover [*] on the highway decides that the traffic is just not moving fast enough for him and, hey, he's in a Land Rover, so he is automatically superior, so he decides to drive off the highway across the open ground to join the R300 to get further ahead as the R300 joins the highway.
So he starts bundu bashing in his Land Rover across the open semi-sandy, semi-grassy land and gets stuck halfway. I sit watching him,sending him mental dumbass rays. The land Rover's back-right tyre spins madly and spews sand high into the air. The Land Rover rocks. The guy climbs out the vehicle and has a look at the tyre and the ditch into which he has dug himself. He climbs back into the Land Rover. More sand spews into the air. The Land Rover rocks some more and then slowly moves forward. The vehicle is almost out of the bundu when it gets to the embankment that leads up to the R300. The embankment is at at least a 45-degree angle. The guy can't get his Land Rover up the embankment. By now I am laughing my ass off, as are a few people in the lane to my right.
The guy tries again, but rolls backwards. A few people who are on the side of the R300 changing a tyre on a car climb down to try and give him directions and advice. The guy tries again. And again, and finally makes it. He drives off down the R300 in semi embarrasment to join the freeway further down, where there is no one who has seen his escapades. I curse 4x4/Land Rover/Jeep/SUV drivers, for about the 5th time that day.
Because of the weird way that the roads all join, avoiding the river, there is a triangular-shaped patch of open ground between the highway and where the R300 joins. The traffic is flowing a little more freely from the R300 onto the freeway than along the freeway itself before heading into the section with the closed middle lane, which is up next. Some dumbass in a Land Rover [*] on the highway decides that the traffic is just not moving fast enough for him and, hey, he's in a Land Rover, so he is automatically superior, so he decides to drive off the highway across the open ground to join the R300 to get further ahead as the R300 joins the highway.
So he starts bundu bashing in his Land Rover across the open semi-sandy, semi-grassy land and gets stuck halfway. I sit watching him,sending him mental dumbass rays. The land Rover's back-right tyre spins madly and spews sand high into the air. The Land Rover rocks. The guy climbs out the vehicle and has a look at the tyre and the ditch into which he has dug himself. He climbs back into the Land Rover. More sand spews into the air. The Land Rover rocks some more and then slowly moves forward. The vehicle is almost out of the bundu when it gets to the embankment that leads up to the R300. The embankment is at at least a 45-degree angle. The guy can't get his Land Rover up the embankment. By now I am laughing my ass off, as are a few people in the lane to my right.
The guy tries again, but rolls backwards. A few people who are on the side of the R300 changing a tyre on a car climb down to try and give him directions and advice. The guy tries again. And again, and finally makes it. He drives off down the R300 in semi embarrasment to join the freeway further down, where there is no one who has seen his escapades. I curse 4x4/Land Rover/Jeep/SUV drivers, for about the 5th time that day.
Labels: Cape Town
posted by Mandy J Watson at 5:30 PM
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1 Comments:
Er, unfortunately, no. I think he did end up slightly ahead, but then he drove slowly so soon after we'd passed the traffic jam area we passed him chugging along on the freeway.
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