Words & Photo: Tiger Wheel & Tyre
If you ask South Africans to describe their countrymen in general, most will respond with adjectives like “easygoing” and “friendly.” Yet one glance at any newspaper will tell you that when we get on the roads, we are anything but laid back.
It’s time we regained our easygoing and friendly reputations and banned bullying on our roads, especially since April is the time of year many South Africans dash to the coast. Tiger Wheel & Tyre has some tips on how you can help achieve this;
1. It’s not personal so don’t make it so. Most road rage incidents are less about the situation and more about whatever else is happening in the person’s life. Don’t fan the flames by reacting.
2. Leave early. Give yourself an extra 10 minutes to get places. That way you won’t be prone to “fits of rage” if traffic is slow or somebody cuts you off.
3. Relax! Take several deep breaths before reacting to bad drivers. Controlled breathing relaxes you and lowers your blood pressure.
4. Mind your manners. Don’t weave, race, flash your lights, make rude hand gestures, call out insults or otherwise engage in aggressive behaviour that will spark rage in others. As Tiger Wheel & Tyre points out, apart from being dangerous, it’s bad manners and reckless.
5. If you do make a mistake acknowledge when you’re wrong, so you don’t spark a situation that could spiral out of control. Perhaps, when you have made a mistake, show a polite and apologetic gesture by using your hazard lights.
Finally, if you need a pre-holiday tyre inspection, pop into your nearest Tiger Wheel & Tyre and check out the Trending Treads promotion ending on 3 May 2014. Tiger Wheel & Tyre stores will promote a different tyre brand each week and offer customers a free service of either wheel alignment or balancing and nitrogen with the purchase of four tyres on that week’s “trending treads” promotion.
For details on these weekly promotions and to find the Tiger Wheel & Tyre store nearest to you, visit the website www.twt.to
