Watch: Joburg taxis dice with oncoming traffic
A new YouTube video has emerged showing taxi drivers in Randburg, Johannesburg driving brazenly into oncoming traffic.
The video, posted by Nevarda Wilson, shows a number of taxis within a short time endangering the lives of the country’s road users by flagrantly flouting the law.
According to reports by News24, metro police arrested eight taxi drivers on Friday morning for the incident.
Johannesburg Metro Police Department Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said another three taxi drivers were fined R1 000 each for negligent driving..
Minnaar vowed that metro cops would continue to clamp down “until taxi drivers refrain from driving on the wrong side of the road during peak morning traffic”.
Taxis are the most popular mode of transport in urban areas, with the industry consisting of approximately 150,000 public minibus taxis, earning an estimated turnover of R16.5 billion a year.
“The South African taxi industry plays an important role in the economy considering that the majority of South Africans are poor and dependent on public transport,” said road safety awareness group, Arrive Alive.
The industry comprises more than 20,000 taxi owners and 200,000 employees, and accounts for 90% of the entire taxi market, and 65% of public transport methods, the group said.
Alarmingly, however, of the 36 lives lost daily on the country’s roads on average – three are killed in taxi-related incidents.
In the past week, alone, there are have been several reports of taxi-related deaths and injuries around the country.
On Monday, one person died and 16 others were seriously injured when a taxi overturned at the William Nicol and Wedgewood Link Road intersection in Sandton.
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