ANONYMOUS writes:
I am a very irritated and concerned motorist who frequently uses the very busy De Wiekus Road which runs through Van Riebeeck Park.
The reason for my irritation and concern is the blatant disregard of road rules by taxi drivers. These “highway gentlemen” have no regard for other motorists as they stop anywhere, with no prior warning, to discharge or pick up passengers.
They seem to regard the activation of their hazard lights as a right to stop abruptly. They are not able to get off the road as the road border does not allow it, so when they stop, the traffic in the left lane has to come to an abrupt halt without warning.
This results in screeching brakes or some motorists violently swerving into the right lane in order to avoid a collision, which usually results in near collisions in the right lane.
These unlawful and dangerous stops usually occur opposite the NG church and opposite the Engen garage but do occur anywhere on the road where passengers are or need to get off.
I am not totally conversant with the law, but surely it is illegal to pick up and discharge passengers anywhere but at designated taxi ranks?
I would like to challenge the metro police to have officers on duty at these points, especially at peak times, in order to impose the appropriate fines, ensure the elimination of this bad practice and promote safe traffic flow on this road.
I say challenge, as it seems that taxi drivers generally get overlooked in the application of the law regarding road use while the rest of us mere mortals just suffer in silence.
Please do something. There is a bad accident waiting to happen.
