Wednesday, May 16, 2007

South Africans sure like their speed



While there's no denying that typical south africans like to go fast, sometimes the law catches up with them. Here are some excerpts from traffic related articles in South Africa, some are quite funny:


"Johannesburg - A traffic camera on the Olifantsfontein offramp on the N1 north caught a respected Schweizer Reneke farmer doing 140km/h in a 120km/h zone - on his tractor." (Perhaps it was a Lamborghini tractor?)


"In Alberton, a 38-year-old BMW driver was caught driving at 208km/h on the N12 near the Reading interchange. "Driving fast is my hobby. Don't think I'll ever drive slower," the BMW driver told police who later arrested him."


SA is full of government officials who believe having an urgent meeting qualifies for legalized speeding, as demonstrated by one JHB official doing more than twice the speed limit. He said, "Last week my flight from Johannesburg to Durban was delayed. But at the same time I had an appointment that had been planned for weeks. That to me constituted an emergency," he told the provincial legislature on Thursday."


"Johannesburg - A KwaZulu-Natal motorcyclist driver has been fined R102 000 by the Scottburgh Magistrate's Court after he was caught speeding, the SABC reported on Thursday.
Jan Hendrick was caught driving his motorbike at 295km/h." (that's 89000 norwegian kroners, quite a traffic ticket!!).


"Johannesburg - Nine men were arrested at the weekend for speeding. A 45-year-old man in a Ford Territory was doing 206km/h. He said he was going to play golf. It was 06:21."


"Johannesburg - A man caught driving at 234km/h in a 120km/h zone early on Sunday claimed not to have realised he was speeding, Ekurhuleni Metro police said. The 25-year-old in his BMW was one of five motorists pulled over in Germiston on the N3 freeway."


"Johannesburg - A 32-year-old man handed himself in to police on Monday after he was caught driving at 259km/h on the East Rand. The man, driving a BMW M3, was stopped by police on Linksfield Road in Edenvale on Sunday, but drove off before he could be arrested, said inspector Jimmy Maboko."


"Johannesburg - Metro police arrested five motorists on Sunday for speeding - including a Lamborghini driver doing 251km/h in Midrand."


"Johannesburg - The director-general of the department of social development, Vusimuzi Madonsela, thought he had the highway to himself as he sped along the N1 at 228km/h in his Mercedes-Benz on Saturday. But the Johannesburg Metro Police were lying in wait."


"Johannesburg - Six speeding motorists were arrested along the N1 past the N12 freeway on Sunday, Johannesburg metro police said. One man, driving a BMW, was "upset" at being caught as he had a laser-jamming device fitted to his car. He was travelling at 181 kilometres per hour."


Every excuse is stranger than the other.. "On Sunday seven motorists were arrested on the N2 highway near Linksfield. They were doing between 181 and 211 km/h in a 120 km/h zone. Mokheseng said the speeding motorists had several reasons for driving so fast. "One man said he was late for his flight, the other one said his mother was sick, a third man in a Ferrari said he had missed his flight and was trying to get to Cape Town on time". A 22-year-old man driving a Toyota Corolla at 193km/h told us he had the runs (diarrhoea) and that was why he was driving so fast."