A general view of a taxi, 26 April 2019. Picture: Refilwe Modise
The passengers on board the 15-seater taxi managed to alert a passing metro police vehicle to assist them.
“The passengers screamed at officers who were passing, cautioning that the taxi driver was highly intoxicated and couldn’t even drive straight. The vehicle was swerving,” JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said.
The incident happened on the M1 north freeway, near 11th Avenue. Minnaar said the driver had recorded a DUI reading of 1.74mg/l which is way above the legal limit for professional drivers.
He said, after the man was tested, he was immediately arrested and faces a drunk driving charge. He is expected to appear in court later this week.
Minnaar added that the arrest was a warning to motorists that no drunk driving would be tolerated during festive season and that all perpetrators would be arrested and detained.
JMPD chief David Tembe shared the incident to his Twitter page, eliciting a positive reaction from users who lauded the passengers for their bravery and good deed.
“It’s about time passengers alert officers of these taxi drivers that put their lives in danger. I always wonder, why are passengers allowing taxi drivers to skip red robots…drive recklessly nje. #VivaPassengers,” one user replied.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.