The World’s Worst Drivers or the World’s Worst Pedestrians?

For years people have argued about which country has the world’s worst drivers. Although South Africa may not win this coveted award, it should certainly earn honorable mention. South Africa has an insane number of fatalities every year from car accidents. There are also a ludicrously high number of pedestrians hit and killed in the country as well.

And it’s not hard to see why. After having spent time on the road in this country it’s apparent that people don’t give a rat’s ass about the speed limit (I’m not even sure there is one), no one wears a seatbelt and the cars are tiny diesel powered deathtraps. The roads are also so narrow in some places that playing chicken with an oncoming car is frighteningly common. Throw the most confident (or unbelievably stupid) pedestrians into this mix – who dive into traffic at an alarming rate, and all hell breaks loose.

I’ve seen some gutsy pedestrians in the US, most notably in states like Massachusetts where pedestrians are protected by law. But they don’t hold a candle to South Africans. A lot of people here don’t seem to realize that you won’t win a fight against a 2000 lbs. car.