WATCH | 'You hit me!': Motorcyclist confronts driver after taxi sideswipes him
Minibus taxis can break the law as they please.
That’s the view of a motorcyclist who took a fall at about 80km/h after being side-swiped by a minibus taxi who had jumped a red traffic light in Northriding‚ Johannesburg.
“That is why they (minibus taxis) do whatever they want: because there are no consequences. They could not care less for our lives. If you look at how they drive‚ they do not care about their passengers either‚” said the biker‚ who asked to remain anonymous for his own safety.
He captured video footage‚ widely shared on social media‚ of the incident which happened around 6.45am on July 11.
In the video‚ the traffic light turns green for the biker. A minibus taxi approaches from the right, goes through a red traffic light, and turns in front of the biker.
The biker accelerates and turns to face the minibus taxi‚ before accelerating away. As he slows down‚ the minibus overtakes and cuts in from the right-hand side‚ clipping the motorcycle.
The biker falls and you can hear the screech of the motorcycle sliding as sparks fly across the tarmac. He runs up to the minibus taxi‚ stopped at a nearby traffic light, and knocks on the driver’s window.
“Kom (Come). Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop daarso (Stop there). …It’s an accident‚” the biker says.
“Stop what. Which accident?” the driver replies.
“You hit me… I am driving there‚ you come over‚ you hit me‚” the biker responds. The driver waves him away.
The biker told TimesLIVE on Monday: “When three [minibus] taxis stop beside you‚ you can’t do anything. You can’t pull the driver out of the [minibus] taxi.”
The biker reported the accident to the Douglasdale police station but said he has not been contacted since. He damaged his right knee ligaments and his Suzuki GW250 was written off. “It’s a cheapie. The damage was R25‚000 and the value was R35‚000.”
This was his first run-in with a minibus taxi‚ but it did not stop him from getting back in the saddle. “At least I don’t work on the Fourways side anymore. I work closer to home now. I ride a motorcycle every day.”
He advised motorists not to take on minibus taxis‚ especially if they are motorcyclists on their own. “They (minibus taxis) stand together.”