 | Drakenstein Traffic’s Cool Caren Wants to Be Everywhere to Help
01 July 2024 | Press Releases |
1 July 2024
Caren Victor is a familiar face in the streets of Drakenstein, where she passionately carries out her work on a daily basis. Whether people get a tad nervous when they see her and the distinctive blue lights accompanying her, is another question altogether.
After school Caren, a former student of Huguenot High School in Wellington, decided to study Municipal Police at the Phillipi College in Cape Town. This includes policing, traffic and law enforcement. In 2001, she started working as a traffic officer (Grd3) at the former Wellington Traffic Services, and today she is an assistant superintendent at Drakenstein Municipality’s Traffic Services Department.
Regarding her experience as a traffic officer in Drakenstein, she says: “Well, we are not always the public’s darlings, but for me, it is important to do my job to the best of my ability and to treat every person the same, regardless of where they live or their social status. So, I would also say the public should remember that we, as traffic officers, are also just people who deserve to be treated with respect.”
For Caren, safe public transport on our local roads is of utmost importance, and minibuses must be roadworthy and suitable for transporting commuters. “The other officer calls me the taxi queen,” she laughs. And while chatting with Caren outside on the Berg Rivier Boulevard in Paarl, a minibus taxi passes by, honks its horn, and waves upon recognising her.
“I really enjoy working with people and helping where I can. From directing traffic, clearing branches from the road, or even loading an injured animal found by the roadside, I enjoy helping others.”
Drakenstein is notorious for its scorching hot summers and cold, wet winters, and Vars wanted to know which of these seasons Caren prefers to work outside. “I prefer the summer. We can have more roadblocks in the summer, because roadblocks are not always possible in rainy weather.”
With 23 years of experience under her belt, she believes things have changed in recent years, especially concerning the safety of traffic officers and how they approach the public.
“Five years ago, you could pull over a vehicle alone in the evening, but today, you have to be cautious even in broad daylight to do so, because you never know who is in that vehicle. Today, I can honestly say: without my team, I am nothing.”
Caren, mom to a 23-year-old son, recalls that when he was young, he found it cool because his mom had a car with blue lights and chased people. “Now he is more concerned about my safety.”
As a traffic officer, Caren also sometimes witnesses tragic scenes unfold before her.
“I was once at a car accident on the N1 where a young woman passed away. Her body was in the road when her father, grandmother and grandfather arrived. It was heartbreaking for me to see the pain on their faces. A few days after the accident, her father called me to say thank you. It was a grieving family, and yet he took the time to say thank you.”
About experiences that will always stay with her, she says: “There are many, but one incident that I will always remember is the day I had to conduct a driving test in Wellington. There is this well-known hill in Berg en Dal in Wellington where drivers passing at a stop sign must stop and then move off without letting the vehicle roll backward. This particular woman not only let the vehicle roll back a bit, but she let it roll all the way down the road. She failed her driving test right there, but when we had to drive back to the testing centre, she refused to go back, and I had to walk back from there,” she recounts, laughing.
Caren’s passion for her work is visible. When she confidently steps out onto the busy Berg River Boulevard to direct the traffic, you can quickly notice the years of experience.
“We want to help everywhere, be everywhere, but unfortunately, it’s not always possible. My request to the public would be to be patient with us; we will handle your complaints and be of service to the community.”
[END]
