Taxi Menace

Black Coffee: Like I said I had no problem with taxi drivers as a passenger, but I have to admit that too often they completely disregard that pedestrians have right of way, and this is the result. Yet Joburg metro police decided to suspend the operation they had against reckless driving by taxis.

Doberman: Actually, according to The First Commandment of the Taxi Driver's Bible, only the Taxi Driver Shalt have Right of Way on South Africa's Roads. Bugger pedestrians, bugger other motorists. Many hundreds of passengers are killed in - and as a result of - taxis each year. This isn't a new phenomenon it's been like this forever, pre-1994 in fact. You may have been just lucky Greg because having spoken to many blacks they say the trip to and from work for all commuters is a very stressful experience. The worst offenders are the long distance taxis.

Getting into a taxi in SA is literally putting your life into the hands of an uneducated buffoon who does not care about you or the public. He is king of the road. He has a quota to fill and you had better get out of his way. This may be Africa and many things are unenforceable (or inevitable) but regulating the taxi industry should not be that difficult. What is lacking is the political will. When people's lives start to count, when people start to complain that's when the guvmunt will listen. Maybe. Until then the menace endures.

Related:
Taxi driver kills 16-year old Bernadine Kruger
Completely lawless chaotic hell of Joburg traffic…

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Storms River - Two people died and nine others were injured after a taxi ploughed into pedestrians along the N2 highway in Storms River on Monday morning, ER24 emergency services said.

Spokesperson Tristan Wadeley said the collision happened around 07:00 near the Storms River Village turn-off.

Two people were declared dead on arrival by emergency services, one was in a critical condition, three people were in serious conditions and the other five sustained moderate injuries.

Two people trapped under the taxi had to be freed by rescue crews.

"One of the critical patients was airlifted from the scene by helicopter, the rest were taken by ambulance to Kareedouw provincial hospital for further treatment," Wadeley said.

The taxi was travelling on the N2 towards Plettenberg Bay when it left the road and hit pedestrians waiting for a bus on the side of the road, he said.

Hat tip: Black Coffee