Bakkie stuck on a pedestrian bridge has Mzansi in stitches

Just how this bakkie driver thought a pedestrian bridge crossing was possible is anyone's guess. Picture: Facebook

Just how this bakkie driver thought a pedestrian bridge crossing was possible is anyone's guess. Picture: Facebook

Published Dec 5, 2024

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A Cape Town video showing a bakkie attempting to cross a pedestrian bridge has left South Africans with more questions than answers.

The footage, which found its way onto numerous social media channels, shows what appears to be a Daihatsu Gran Max bakkie getting stuck just before a hairpin bend on a bridge designed for foot traffic only.

How this was not obvious to the driver of said bakkie is anyone’s guess, inviting many questions about their state of mind and possible level of intoxication.

According to TikTok user @ross.j10, who witnessed the event, the incident took place on the Kalkfontein Pedestrian bridge, over the R300 highway, which connects the suburbs of Belhar and Kalkfontein. His video, which comes with a colourful language warning, shows people attempting to push the bakkie.

@ross.j10 #for #kaapstad #fyp #r300 #dom #stupid ♬ original sound - Daiy Abrahams TDM

Although the little Daihatsu is narrower than most bakkies, with a width of 1,665mm, no vehicle should ever attempt to cross a pedestrian bridge, which was not designed for vehicles of any kind. 

As you’d expect, South African social media users wasted no time in verbally slaughtering this incredibly stupid driver. "Only in South Africa do we have so much comedy,” Denis Pereira said on the We Are South Africans Facebook page. He was joined by a chorus of equally puzzled commenters.

  • “Only in Africa. The rest of the world will never believe this.” - Jeanette Corney.
  • “They say that as long as you believe in yourself and your abilities, you can get anything right.” - Poppie Coetzee
  • “What happens when you buy your licence.” - Brandon Florence.
  • “This must be a scene of an upcoming Leon Schuster movie!” - Engela Pereira
  • “He’s teaching the taxi drivers an impossible mission.”- Thiam Moh
  • “Is he playing GTA in real life?” Lebogang Trace
  • “Nothing in this country surprises me anymore.” - Albert Smit
  • “How flipping stupid can a human being be?” - John Kewley
  • “What we can expect with a 30% pass rate…” - Yusuf Joe Allie

This was not the first time that the Kalkfontein Pedestrian bridge hit the headlines. In August this year motorists were issued a warning after a section of its safety grid was cut open, leaving space for criminals to throw objects directly onto the road below.

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