’Tis the season to have road rage tra la la la la… As traffic increases over the festive season, so do the tempers on the roads, it seems.
With the influx of GP number plates announcing Christmas is around the corner, our roads become the perfect grounds to release built-up tension accumulated over the past 11 months.
The larger volumes of holidaymakers might bode well for the Western Cape economy, but it does little to curb the frustrations associated with traffic congestion.
The festive season is synonymous with rushing around and fighting against other consumers who also just want to get home after a long year, so it’s sometimes too easy for us Capetonians to show these lost visitors a finger or spew some profanity without giving it much thought.
It becomes a constant battle of restraint that leaves you arriving at your destination a lot more flustered than you ought to be. Add the extreme summer temperatures to that equation and it’s even more of a trial.
Over the many years I have found various ways to overcome my own need to “strangle a Vaalie” when I find myself stuck behind one who can’t read maps or road signs. The truth is that it’s really not their fault for wanting to spend some time in the Cape. Who can blame them? Look at where they come from and you understand why they want to share our lifestyle for a few weeks a year.
Also, is it their fault that we are still working while they are on holiday? Or that we can’t get that expensive gift for our nagging kids for Christmas ’cos our boss is a tosser who doesn’t reward his staff well enough for their hard work? Well, no, it’s not, but we need an outlet to vent some of this frustration, and guess who bears the brunt of it?
Yep, it’s that family with the GP number plate holding up the traffic because they’re lost. The happy family enjoying themselves in the beautiful Cape with very little worry about life at that moment.
The way I find myself dealing with this frustration is very simple. There is an old saying: if you can’t beat them, join them. And that’s exactly what I end up doing. Beating them! Just kidding.
Joining them makes a huge difference to not only my stress levels, but also to my attitude towards all road users over this season. I try to enjoy my own city, to take a few extra minutes out of my day to appreciate things we take for granted during the other 11 months. The same things that bring tourists to our city year on year. The sometimes simple pleasures.
When you change your mindset about how magnificent this time of the year is and how amazing our Cape is, it starts to make sense why so many people come here to take a break. And it is also quite nice feeling like a tourist in your own city. It doesn’t matter how old your car is or how much of an effort it might be to get the family packing into her, make the time to drive them through the Winelands, go to the beach or discover our peninsula. Drive around the back roads of the Western Cape and enjoy her for all she’s worth. The biggest advantage we have is that we don’t need maps or have to stop to ask for directions every 10 minutes.
Take this opportunity to blame the holiday traffic for for your untimely arrival for a meeting while you were silently enjoying some time taking in the sights, because from January the boss expects bigger things from you in the new year, and so do the kids!
P.S. If you are reading this and you are from Gauteng or any other province, just a reminder that you’ll get more than you bargained for if you shout “Ho Ho Ho” from your car when driving down Sea Point Main Road over this season!