Road users have had to adopt the attitude that it is okay for taxis to disobey the rules and get away with it because that is “just the way it is!” People have even lost their lives at the hands of taxi drivers and we, as a society, have had to accept it.
So when a man stands up and shows resistance to the fact that it is not okay for taxis to push us around on the roads, he then becomes the monster because he does not submit to being the victim, (NEWS, July 17, Pedestrian shocked by road rage incidents).
Mr Wayne Muchengeti did not see what had happened to cause the man in the silver Tata to react in the manner that he did. Therefore I find it amusing that the Bedfordview and Edenvale NEWS would choose to publish a story with half the story. I thought the newspapers were there to report the facts and the truth, reporting half the story is hardly ethical.
I am sure that the Bedfordview and Edenvale NEWS has received tons of reports on incidents that have occurred with taxi drivers and yet I find it amusing that they would choose to print the article that makes the taxi look like the innocent victim.
Mr Wayne Muchengeti conveniently never saw what had happened to cause the man in the Tata to react in a manner that he did. If anything I think the man in the silver Tata deserves a spot in your newspaper to tell the world what had happened on the other side of this story. We have become so used to being bullied on the road that reporting it would be a waste of time.
I am not too sure what reaction you were looking for by publishing a letter like this to the public but as a South African road user, all I have to say is this, “High five to the man in the silver Tata!”
If more South African road users could stand up against being bullied by the taxi drivers it might make taxi drivers think twice before doing as they please on our roads.
