Driving: Think Left
To aid our exploration of the Western Cape, as this province is known, we rented a car for a portion of our time in South Africa. This initially caused us (OK, Erin) some distress, as we thought about driving on the left side of the road, coupled with South Africa’s reputation as a hectic driving location. I have to admit, I was a bit shaky as we first pulled out of the Holiday Inn in Cape Town, where the Europcar was located. My concerns were diminished a bit when I learned that although I would be captaining our fine Ford from the right side of the car, the gas, brake and clutch were the same as in the US. I would just have to teach my left hand to shift – not that big a deal.

Once on the open road, I found the driving to be pretty straightforward, with a couple notable differences.

First and foremost is the slightly loose concept of lanes in South Africa. In the US, a lane is marked by lines and people generally drive within the lines, unless changing lanes or moving to avoid something in the road.

Not so in South Africa. While most roads – even main highways – are officially two lanes, they are treated as four (or possibly even five) lane roads. This is especially true when the shoulder is paved.

When a car comes up on you – as many seem to do to us, since I am driving a crappy little US car and most people of means seem to drive huge Mercedes with V-8 engines, the protocol is for the slower car to drive in the shoulder, while the other car passes to the right. This is done without much regard to what is happening in the oncoming lane, and in fact, it is common for the oncoming lane to have cars behaving similarly.

Once passed, it is polite to flash your hazard lights for a few seconds, as a way to say thank you.

The result of all this behavior is four lanes of traffic on a two-lane road.

NOTE: Due to my understanding of my familial tendencies towards worry, this posting has not been made until after the rental car has been safely returned to Europcar.