Johannesburg - Despite police arresting more than 10 drivers, a potentially deadly traffic game continued to play out on the streets, with taxis using the oncoming lane as a shortcut.
On Wednesday morning alone, The Star witnessed five taxis executing this reckless driving ploy on the corner of Jan Smuts Avenue and Gordon Road in Randburg.
Taxi drivers couldn’t resist the urge to cut through traffic, despite the wet weather conditions.
They drove through the intersection and into the left lane of oncoming traffic. The lane is clearly marked.
All five taxis didn’t bother stopping at the stop street meters away from the robot and were blind to the no-entry sign before the stop.
RISKY MOVE
Although the lane is mostly clear to traffic and taxi drivers have a clear view of the cars approaching, those using it illegally run the risk of colliding with motorists, including buses that frequently use the busy road.
Some of the drivers took it a step further and drove onto the pavement parallel to the turning lane to cut through the traffic.
One of the taxi drivers guilty of this violation showed remorse and tried to correct his behaviour when he saw a photographer from The Star taking pictures of him driving on the pavement.
Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officers were seen driving past the intersection but were not stationed there.
Two officers in a marked JMPD vehicle arrested a taxi driver driving down the oncoming lane.
A concerned resident, Kristel Grobler, told The Star at the scene that taxi drivers had been unlawfully using the lane to cut through traffic for the past five years.
ENFORCEMENT NOT HELPING
Although the police were occasionally on the scene, they failed to remedy the situation. This was because, according to Grobler, taxi drivers warned their colleagues about the police presence at the scene, so they used another route.
Grobler said the drivers had on numerous occasions narrowly missed injuring passing pedestrians walking on the side of the road.
Last week Randburg resident Nervarda Wilson posted a video on YouTube showing numerous taxis driving down the wrong side of Jan Smuts Avenue, heading straight for oncoming traffic.
Ward councillor Tim Truluck said the city was undergoing major transformations regarding its transport infrastructure with the construction of cycle and Rea Vaya lanes, and this was resulting in minibus taxi drivers exploiting the lack of law enforcement as they “duck and dive” through the suburbs to avoid congestion.
JMPD spokesman Wayne Minnaar said five drivers have been fined R1 000 each for reckless driving and nine arrested for driving on the wrong side of the road since Friday last week. – Additional reporting Anna Cox
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