Create special cop squads to stop the terror of taxi drivers: iLIVE

06 March 2013 - 03:01 By Derek Krummeck, Umhlanga
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Angry protesters outside the Daveyton police station after a taxi driver from Mozambique was dragged by a police van and then beaten to death while in custody at the station
Angry protesters outside the Daveyton police station after a taxi driver from Mozambique was dragged by a police van and then beaten to death while in custody at the station
Image: MOELETSI MABE

We once again read of taxi occupants being killed or injured.

On Sunday, two taxis collided at an intersection in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, killing a six-year-old boy and injuring 19 others. The authorities repeat their standard response: "The cause of the accident was unknown."

Anyone who shares the roads with taxis knows the likely cause of the crash.

Taxi drivers do not obey the rules of the road and they have very little respect for other road users.

I have a suggestion for our government and the minister of transport: introduce a special law-enforcement branch that deals exclusively with lawless taxi drivers.

Employ 1000 "taxi law enforcers" per province to eradicate the "disease" of taxi offences.

The officers must be selected for their fearless devotion to law and order.

Incentivise the enforcers and fit their vehicles with cameras to record taxi transgressions before they make an arrest.

Drivers must pay a hefty fine or have the taxi pulled off the road.

This payment must also be recorded on video to prevent corruption.

At the end of the day, the officer hands over the fines, less their 10%, which serves as their salary.

In this way, taxpayers will not even have pay for the salaries for this special force.

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