The heavy rains in many parts of the country, along with unpredictable and frequent rolling blackouts, are a perfect recipe for traffic madness and motorists and pedestrians are urged to travel with caution. This is the message from the Automobile Association (AA), which says motorists must be extra-vigilant while on the roads.
“Not only do motorists have to contend with flooding and heavy downpours which affect visibility, many traffic lights are out of service because of the bad weather. The problem is further exacerbated by rolling blackouts which mean many traffic lights and street lights aren’t working either, making driving not only tricky, but dangerous too,” warns the AA.
An added issue which has developed during the past few days is that potholes are occurring in places where they weren’t before.
“Small holes are now becoming large potholes and many motorists see these only when it’s too late. These may become problems for other motorists as drivers swerve to avoid hitting the potholes, creating a knock-on effect.
"If you are driving, be alert at all times, even if you have driven a specific route many times before. Road conditions not only change overnight, they can change within a few hours, so be prepared at all times for new obstacles,” says the AA.
How to deal with heavy rain and the traffic chaos caused by load-shedding
Image: : Surut Wattanamaetee / 123RF
The heavy rains in many parts of the country, along with unpredictable and frequent rolling blackouts, are a perfect recipe for traffic madness and motorists and pedestrians are urged to travel with caution. This is the message from the Automobile Association (AA), which says motorists must be extra-vigilant while on the roads.
“Not only do motorists have to contend with flooding and heavy downpours which affect visibility, many traffic lights are out of service because of the bad weather. The problem is further exacerbated by rolling blackouts which mean many traffic lights and street lights aren’t working either, making driving not only tricky, but dangerous too,” warns the AA.
An added issue which has developed during the past few days is that potholes are occurring in places where they weren’t before.
“Small holes are now becoming large potholes and many motorists see these only when it’s too late. These may become problems for other motorists as drivers swerve to avoid hitting the potholes, creating a knock-on effect.
"If you are driving, be alert at all times, even if you have driven a specific route many times before. Road conditions not only change overnight, they can change within a few hours, so be prepared at all times for new obstacles,” says the AA.
Stages 6 to 8 load-shedding: What it means and how it affects you
The AA says with unpredictable rolling blackouts continuing for the foreseeable future, and with the rain not letting up, motorists and pedestrians should follow a few simple rules. These include:
In addition, the AA warns people not to relax their vigilance if the weather improves.
“Even though the rain is expected to ease up in the next few days, roads will still be slippery. Traffic lights which are out and potholes which have developed will take a while to repair. Don’t assume because there’s no rain falling the danger has passed. It hasn’t. Given that rolling blackouts are continuing on an irregular schedule, the dangers of motoring are, for now, still very real.”
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