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The author does not account for the tail risks of driving an unfamiliar rental car long distances, especially in a dangerous country like South Africa where hij
by pgt 6y ago
The author does not account for the tail risks of driving an unfamiliar rental car long distances, especially in a dangerous country like South Africa where hijackings are super-common, especially in Johanneburg.
How certain are you that the brakes won't fail and the CV joints won't go in the middle of a hijacking or a blockade of burning tyres in the middle of the national highway (a weekly occurrence in ZA)? Or that you'll be pelted with rocks by a mob of protesters on your way back from work (common)? Or that an unroadworthy minibus taxi will swerve in front of you without signalling (a daily driving experiience in ZA)?
My Subaru Forester is costlier to maintain than a rental, but I know all its faults and limits. I know fast I can corner without sliding and I know I can get out of a sticky situation with all-wheel drive and a 2.5L turbo. I hope I don't need to, but I can outrun most hijackers and drunk drivers (there are many).
Taleb says only insure against risk of ruin. I regard my SUV as tail-risk insurance in case shit hits the fan.
- selimthegrim 6y agoWhat is going on with the commuter rail system in Gauteng? Wouldn’t it be safer than driving?
- pgt 6y agoThe Gautrain is fine, though pricey. The issue though is with the last-mile travel. How do you get from the train station to your house? Walk and you'll get mugged, esp. if you walk a regular route with expensive equipment on you, otherwise you take an Uber. The minibus taxes aren't roadworthy and drive like demons. So most people in Gauteng own a car with anti-hijack coatings on the window, or they Uber. In Cape Town there is no longer a working rail system because the trains were burned by the protesting populace. Even when the trains were running (with huge delays), you'd get pickpocketed on the train. You could never risk travelling at night if you had anything valuable on you.
- asdff 6y agoHow often have you had to outrun a hijacker?
- pgt 6y agoI haven't, but my roommate from university had to outrun a Toyota Corolla with four guys trying to pull him over on a mountain pass in his Subaru Outback. Since then, things in ZA have gotten worse.