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Cape Town - Wheels24 user Robert Cronje wrote in to vent about South African taxi drivers, particularly in Cape Town and says all road users should take a stand against the madness.
National chaos
Cronje says: I truly believe that the time has come for all South African road users to unite against the daily taxi chaos on our roads. Not only are they totally disregarding the road laws, but they are putting at risk everyone else on the road around them..... not to mention their passengers!
I travel down Voortrekker road from Bellville to Pinelands and back every day for the past two years and have hardly ever reached my destination with a healthy blood pressure. It is amazing to see what these guys pull off, and get away with. This while traffic officials are often in the vicinity and do nothing about.
WATCH: 'Most taxi drivers are better than you!'
I for one make a point of checking my rear view mirrors all the time and I make sure to block them whenever they aim to pass the long queues of obedient road users waiting their turn to get pass whatever is slowing the flow. This usually leads to racist comments being shouted at me by either the driver or the money collector who mostly hang out of the window announcing their destination for all as far as George to hear.
What frustrates me just as much is their lack of common sense when stopping to pick up passengers. This exercise usually takes place in whichever lane they were travelling in whether there's a parking or bus stop vacant for this purpose. Once stopped, it will stand there waiting for passengers still hundreds of meters away.
What I find mind boggling is the fact that we just accept this. We will obediently wait for them to do their thing, fall in behind them again for a few metres when the process is repeated.
Watch: The reason why taxis 'disregard the law'
Yet, the traffic officials are out hiding behind whatever they can find hoping to catch someone travelling over the speed limit, or setting road blocks to check for outstanding traffic fines while both of these functions could have been dealt with should we have had someone in charge who understood technology and the variety of possibilities have we rather invested that way.
When will policing happen that actually prevents this utter disrespect of the road rules, instead of milking the road users who pay their vehicle registration, taxes etc?
Image: Arrive Alive
Nothing will ever change regarding this, I do however now feel I've got it off my chest.
Taking a stand
In December 2015 Wheels24 reported that a Durban driver, captured via a dashcam, took on a law-breaking taxi.
Read the full story here.The video shows a taxi driver swerving his vehicle into oncoming traffic to overtake gridlocked cars. The taxi driver most likely assumed the oncoming driver would move out of his way. Instead, the driver forces the taxi to reverse all the way back down the road.
