Yeah, I’ll be watching them come a mile away … 
Speaking of this. Returned from the Southern coast, left around 9AM. Traffic was rather terrible. Stopped at Riversdal, which shifted things by an hour… got back on the road, plain sailing.
Except for the usual idiots… this year was particularly bad, provided plenty of material for my side-hobby of lightly editing dashcam footage together. Example 1, and example 2, mostly containing footage from the time we were away.
Well, example 2, the first ‘overtaking on a solid line’ was a dotted line from his side, and perfectly safe/legal if the lane was clear.
My personal pet peeve these days is that people have forgotten how to overtake. They will just queue behind a truck for kms, even with completely open gaps in the oncoming lane. If you want to pass, then pass. If you don’t want to pass, then drop back and leave a gap for someone to pass you… This was probably the single biggest contributor to dangerous driving that I saw this holiday.
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Mine: Keeping right on a clear dual carriageway.
Keep LEFT!! Pass RIGHT !!!
I did a fairly extensive EV road trip this holiday. N1 from Pretoria to Lainsburg, then Montague, Bonnievale and a camp site on the Breede River. Then back to Montague, Barryday, Tradouw pass and a piecewise trip down the N2 towards PE with many stops and stayovers. Then back via Jansenville, Graaf Reinette, and N1.
By and large quite easy. Only one decent fast charger on the route (in Bloem) capable of a full 160kW, which was a dream. Most others are 60kW and a handfull of 80kW - so most charges take about an hour.
The charger at Montague was the first worry, as it was showing almost permanently in-use. I checked when in Lainsburg, and it showed as plugged in and not charging, so I phoned the hotel reception, and they got the driver to move before I got there, so that was also fairly painless.
The charger at Jefferies Bay was also showing busy quite regularly, but was open both times when I went there.
The problems started at Jansenville though. I ended up behind a gent in a newly acquired Atto3. Unfortunately, the dealership did not register his GridCars charge card correctly, or set up the app on his phone.
So each time he got to a charger, there was an hour delay while he fought with GridCars support to start a remote charge. But there is a long chain of single chargers, so inevitably, each time I reached a charger he had only just got charging started…
I finally managed to get past at Colesberg by going to a ‘faulty’ charger and getting GridCars to allow an off-line charge - although this process also took about 30 minutes, so did not save much time.
Ran into him again the next day at Ventersburg, but fortunately only a 20 minute wait.
All in all, the EV infrastructure at the moment is marginal, but sufficient. The biggest issue was the GridCars support which was ludicrously slow and painful - but if they sort this out then EV road tripping should still be doable.
Hopefully Zero Carbon Charge will get their network going soon for some faster alternatives.
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Right! Bad caption. The issue is that the lane is technically not clear just because I’m in the left lane. At least that is how I always interpreted it.
Same actually happened to me. I was told all I needed to do is register for the app (which isn’t really an app, it is more of a mobile-optimised web site… but then most “apps” are just an embedded web browser anyway). For the first 12 months we only charged at home so I was blissfully unaware of any additional requirements. Then I loaded some credit, ventured into Cape Town, and discovered that you’re pretty much screwed without the RFID card.
I drove to the nearest BMW dealer and bought a card, then linked it with the wallet. All relatively painless, and not expensive at all, but it is always nice if someone TELLS you about this before you need it!
I see it differently as long as it’s safe. Otherwise you wait and a whole lane is free… dotted line is the key for me…
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May I share the truck drivers, my perspective?
(not all truck drivers are good, most are.)
Having driven a big retailer trucks as a “bucket list item”, when I move over to the left for cars to pass easily 1) when I felt safe, 2) road can handle me on the verge, 3) there is space, 4) no trucks coming from the opposite direction causing any stress (I could see further than any car can), the countdown from 10 to 1 started when I settled in the yellow lane.
Man, it takes a LOT of concentration being cm’s from the verge with the left 11 of the 22 tires …
When I reached 1 (from 10), I pull back into the lane.
Finish en klaar.
Time for me to gain some resemblance of momentum, timing, for the uphill … try not to slow traffic too badly.
Next downhill I will give the cars behind me another 10 long seconds again to make their move or they will sit behind me again.
Some astitute drivers “get’s it” after the 1st pullback.
Others, not that clever.
Same cars, Strike 3 … I’m not budging.
Trucks do not have to drive in the yellow lane … we do that cause we feel safe and it is nice to other traffic.
Use the opportunity or get off our arses …
Titbit 1:
Once drove a empty flatbed back from George to Cpt.
Was clipping along nicely using momentum to save fuel (braking costs money) at a comfortable consistent safe speed (for empty truck and me) up and downhill.
(Know that you need to brake a empty truck in corners up a pass … man, they have a lot of torque!)
At one point I had like 5 cars behind me just sitting there spaced nicely, for 30’s of km’s letting others pass them to pass me.
Interesting.
Titbit 2:
When passing a truck, watch the front wheels for movement.
If they move towards the right, get away! Brake, pull back!
Takes a few seconds for the trailer to change course … but when it does … your buggered!
Titbit 3:
If a truck wants to change lanes going uphill … GIVE THEM A GAP. hold the traffic back.
Be nice.
Why?
For the traffic following, the more that truck losses speed, the bigger the jam for others following.
“Block” the traffic, slow down, relax, let the truck maintain it’s speed uphill.
Don’t be a Prado/Hilux driver as seen on the N1 at Plattekloof hill.
Be like a Taxi driver as seen on the N2 , giving trucks the space to merge without losing momentum.
Let me add something of my own here. Because you’re dealing with the differential speed of the two vehicles, the passing maneuver is more than halfway over by the time you are halfway past the vehicle in front. At this point, braking and pulling back might be more dangerous than completing the overtaking. Of course, if the vehicle is moving to the right, you still want to get away, but it may be best to swerve to the right too then.
Cars also have a bit of a “point of no return” when overtaking. With planes you call that V1. Once you reach V1, you are taking off, no matter what happens. Anything that happens after that turns into an emergency landing 
To bring this back to topic, that’s one of the advantages of electric lorries. Regen braking. Saves money, saves energy, and you’re not going down hills with hot brakes.
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Very few truck drivers move into the yellow line anymore. And I am OK with that. There is no reason for the truck driver to endanger himself to make my life easier.
My problem is with the car drivers who seem incapable of passing a truck if it does not move over… You can quite literally see a clear oncoming lane all the way to the horizon, but the car will not pass, and will not drop back to give you a gap to pass them.
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This in turn leaves you with two options, 1) be patient, and stay where you are, 2) overtake the scaredy-cat, his patient followers and the lorry in one go.
The more people take option 1, the higher the probability that a big man in a Land Cruiser 27 cars behind you will overtake the entire train in the most dangerous manner possible.
The other issue I’ve had, is when trying to overtake such a train of timid drivers piece-wise. You’ll have someone in front of you who drives with a nice gap, but they protect that gap by closing it whenever you try to pass. They take the position: I think it is unsafe to pass, I will force you to stay in line.
Finally, there is the matter of passing lanes. The moment the passing lane arrives, there will always be an indication as to how long the passing lane is. If it is a short passing lane, and you are number 13 in line, it is often faster to stay left. Everyone else will then bundle into the right lane, but because the passing lane is short, all they do is end up holding themselves up, and they all have to bundle back left again when the passing lane ends. Since you have now used the left lane to move up, this is advantageous on the next turn… but you still have to watch out for the idiots who cannot properly merge back into the left lane.
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That is so true.
To be more clear, BEFORE one hits V1, watch those front tires like a hawk.
Cause when the driver becomes aware of you there in their blind spot, and turn the front wheels back, the trailer still “comes for you” before it is not, i.e. takes as much time for the trailer to change course, if that makes sense?
Technically it is illegal, driving in the yellow lane, if memory serves.
I tried to be nice for the “scaredy-cats” to “get them off me arse!!! FFS” … till I reached 1 with Strike 3 down.
I will also not pass a yellow-line driver if I think it might be unsafe (for me, or for him). For example, let’s say we are going around a slight left bend that slopes down towards the other end, so that I cannot clearly see around the lorry and the bend whether some idiot might be overtaking on the other side: Then I will wait until I can see before I pass. The lorry driver doesn’t know my overtaking capability, but I do.
This is also one reason why I think a powerful engine is a safety thing. Spending less time overtaking reduces your risk. It doesn’t mean you need a big 500hp monster, it’s just the main reason I’ve never really liked vehicles with anything less than 1600cc of engine capacity. I need to be able to drop a gear, wring it’s RPM-limited neck, and get it over with! With the Turbo Diesel, it means I need to get it into the optimal torque range (around 2200 to 2500rpm) before starting overtaking, and while overtaking, which might even mean two cog swaps down and up.
Jip, seen that. Stupid!
At those parts of the road, one should have come back out of the yellow line or some idiot is going to take a chance.
Also used my indicators and brake lights to indicate cars behind when it is safe to come past … and when not to.
But it does take a lot of effort looking in the mirrors …
Titbit:
Must share this, for context.
When I overtake a truck in Suzy, it is an art form, timing, a momentum thing, the truck in the yellow line, I watch the front wheels like a hawk.
Also check to see at times if I can see the drivers eyes in his mirror, that he knows I’m there.
Overtaking the truck, I try not to go too far over the center road lines so that IF a car comes from the front I’m nowhere near their lane.
Saying “thank you” when I’m past.
But it can be a utter shock for the passengers. If they have been sleeping, windows gets dark, or it is open, big tire noises, them waking up to a truck right next to their windows.
Trucks are “safe” to pass close by if you know what to keep cognizance of, front wheels and drivers eyes if you can. But do it quick and secure.
Hope these titbits I share, gives a better insight to “4-wheelers” around trucks.
That’s often the case with Diesels. Especially Turbo Diesels. You have to anticipate your move. That means starting to accelerate a little ahead of time, to get the turbo on boost, and all that.
Another reason I like the EV so much. It’s like a Katana (the Japanese sword) in traffic. I mean, turbos are cool and everything, but actually turbo lag sucks.
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As predicted the electrification of as many power devices as possible is becoming evident as outlined here:
In this age of AI infatuation, it is hard to imagine a less glamorous group of companies than the makers of electrical transformers, high-voltage transmission lines and power-control software. Yet consider their financial performance of late. GE Vernova, which was spun out of the troubled conglomerate in April, has seen its share price roughly double since then. Shares in Germany’s Siemens Energy, which was laid low in 2023 by troubles in its wind-turbine division, outperformed even those of Nvidia last year. Those of Hitachi, a Japanese conglomerate with a big energy-equipment division, have tripled over the past three years.
What explains this? As I write in my article this week, the world is entering a new electricity supercycle. The International Energy Agency, an official forecaster, estimates that global investment in grid infrastructure reached nearly $400bn in 2024, up from a little over $300bn in 2020, and predicts that annual spending will rise to around $600bn by 2030.
One driver is the effort to decarbonise power grids, which looks set to continue despite the imminent arrival in the White House of Donald Trump, a climate-change sceptic. Thanks to the plummeting costs of renewable energy and grid-scale batteries, investment has soared. Adding wind and solar power, often in remote locations, requires extending power lines and investing in hardware and software to manage their intermittency.
The global push for electrification is also turbocharging investment in grids. As electricity powers a rising share of cars, home-heating systems and industrial processes, the IEA expects demand to grow six times as fast as energy use overall in the decade ahead (see chart). Power-hungry data centres are also gobbling up more electricity, as are the millions of people in the developing world who are installing air-conditioning for the first time.
A final force behind the investment boom is grid fortification. As the horrifying fires that have ravaged southern California this week demonstrate, extreme weather events are becoming more common, requiring grids to be made more resilient. It doesn’t help that much of the electricity infrastructure in the rich world is creaking. European grids are over 40 years old on average, and in dire need of upgrades.
The supercycle could, of course, fizzle out. Growth in EV sales has already slowed in many rich countries, and the AI boom might turn to bust. For now, though, investment is surging.
The Economist