WATCH | 'What a legend!': Biker praised after standoff with taxi driver goes viral

11 October 2018 - 11:32 By Nico Gous
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A minibus taxi driver flagrantly driving into oncoming traffic to avoid peak hour congestion was stopped in his tracks and read the riot act by a motorcyclist in Bryanston‚ Johannesburg.

Then the defiant minibus driver‚ caught on video‚ was traced by police and arrested.

The motorcyclist‚ who captured his stand-off with the minibus driver using a helmet-mounted camera‚ has received widespread praise from fed-up motorists after uploading the footage to YouTube.

The biker‚ Sean Nysschen‚ was travelling along Sloane Street when he had to brake abruptly to avoid hitting the oncoming minibus.

The taxi stops‚ reverses a couple of metres and tries to sneak past the biker‚ who is having none of it. The minibus driver throws his hands in the air.

“Where the f*ck do you think you’re going?” the biker asks.

“Sorry‚ my brother‚ sorry‚” the taxi driver replies.

“Where the f*ck do you think you’re going? F*ck you‚” the biker replies.

They continue to exchange words for a couple of minutes. “Go back‚” the biker says‚ repeatedly‚ pointing a gloved finger in the opposite direction.

The taxi‚ at first‚ cheekily tries again to manoeuvre its way around the motorcycle but is blocked every time.

“My clutch is out of order‚” the taxi driver says later on‚ as he pleads with the biker.

Later on a car pulls up next to the motorcycle‚ blocking off the other lane‚ and the motorist inside tells the taxi driver: “You should never drive on the wrong side of the road. You put other people’s lives in danger.”

The taxi eventually retreats‚ in reverse‚ until it gets an opportunity to merge with congested traffic in the correct lane.

The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) confirmed on Wednesday that the taxi driver had been tracked down‚ charged with reckless and negligent driving and detained at the Sandton police station.

People commenting on the clip included Colin Windell who said‚ “Give that man a Bells! The whole damn bottle! Respect.”

“What a legend! These taxi drivers are literally road bullies and this one ran into the wrong person. Love it‚” said K. Pheeha.

Ingrid Borgelt commented‚ "Sean; you took a big chance having a stand-off against that taxi driver. And you were exceptional! The right man for the moment. Couldn't have been better if it had been scripted! Kudos to you and thank you... You were extraordinary. Awesome that you caught it all on camera. Thank you for making a stand... with no violence."

Nysschen‚ who shared the footage on Facebook on October 8 with the comment "Tired of these buggers... did my bit for society"‚ has not yet responded to a request for comment.


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