A race and class drama on our roads
The rich in fast cars barrel past all others, testosterone fuels some vehicles and the poor protest with go-slows, writes Yunus Momoniat
When Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and their peers invented the modern motor car, they also invented the car accident (to adapt philosopher Paul Virilio’s observation about the invention of the airplane). The car is, in that ubiquitous phrase, an accident waiting to happen. The concept of an "accident" really gained traction only in the industrial age following the advent of the steam and internal combustion engines. Accidents don’t happen in slow motion, they are catastrophic because of the speed and physicality of modern collisions. Few people, if any, lost their lives falling off slow-moving hay carts or ox wagons — except, perhaps, on the Great Trek. But it takes a human to perform an accident. Put a fellow being at the controls of a machine capable of motion, speed, force and inertia and you are giving him – or her (which happened quite late in motoring history) – a weapon of intimidation and even of death. Drivers are now weaponised beings, self-appointed warriors of the road. W...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.