The AA questions why VIPs feel threatened by ordinary road users, as aggressive blue-light convoys jeopardise public safety on Gauteng highways.
The Automobile Association (AA) doesn’t normally make political statements, but no doubt it will be accused in some quarters of doing exactly that with its latest press release.
But those who use the highways and byways of Gauteng daily will share the association’s concerns.
The AA said the number of blue-light convoys on the roads in the province is increasing and the VIP brigades pose a threat to other road users.
It cited the “vicious assault” on three drivers on the N1 highway in Fourways in 2023 as “a good example of how protection officers in the motorcades respond to others”.
It added: “The message from these official personnel is that their passengers are more important than other road users and that the public must simply yield or face personal attack.”
ALSO READ: AA slams blue-light brigades as ‘menace and shameful blight’ on SA’s roads
Aggressive bodyguards are not the only threat to other motorists … the convoys frequently travel above the speed limit and vehicles weave in and out of traffic.
Of course, to any properly trained VIP protection specialist, this behaviour just makes the convoys easier targets for determined attackers.
But the real question, comrades, is: What are you afraid of?
Surely not ordinary South Africans? They love all politicians, don’t they?
