JOHANNESBURG — Popular radio personality and Podcast and Chill co-host Sol Phenduka has taken to social media to share a chilling “near-miss” on the road. The broadcaster revealed how a sudden change in his daily commute almost resulted in a serious collision in his own neighborhood.
In a candid post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on February 7, 2026, Phenduka described how “muscle memory” and a long-standing infrastructure failure nearly led to disaster.
The Danger of Routine
For over half a year, a specific traffic light in Sol’s neighborhood had been out of commission, either dead or flashing. Like many local residents, Phenduka had become accustomed to treating the intersection as a free-flowing or stop-and-go zone.
- The Sudden Change: On Sunday, the lights were suddenly repaired and fully functional without warning.
- The Mental Gap: As Sol approached the intersection, his brain saw the light, but the change didn’t immediately compute. “I saw it’s working, but it didn’t register in my head that it’s actually working,” he admitted.
- The Close Call: Continuing “business as usual,” Sol nearly drove through a solid red light, only realizing at the last second that the rules of the road had changed back to normal. He described the moment as a “rude awakening.”
Social Media Reacts: A Safety Debate
The post quickly went viral, sparking a heated discussion among South African motorists about road safety and the country’s infrastructure woes:
- Muscle Memory vs. Awareness: Many followers empathized, noting that when a light is broken for six months, drivers stop “looking” at it and start driving by habit.
- The Flashing Light Rule: Some users took the opportunity to remind fellow drivers that a flashing red light should always be treated as a four-way stop, a rule that helps prevent accidents even when lights are faulty.
- Infrastructure Frustration: Others blamed the long delay in repairs, arguing that erratic infrastructure creates dangerous environments where drivers are forced to guess the rules of the road.
