taxi hit cyclists - christian de wet road : near my house - aish

[dave303e]

That problem is not just the taxis.  That is all over in SA among all groups of motorists.

 

hahahaha too true...

[Warren_G]

Thanks Spoke, just wanted to send a nasty tweet to pro earth. 

was also very quick to look them up, hard to get away with things these days

[RossW]

That problem is not just the taxis.  That is all over in SA among all groups of motorists.

There has always been a unlawful subset of everyday motorists.

Taxi's then came in and started pushing the boundaries and like a small child given ample room for questionable actions with little to no repercussions, all hell broke lose.

 

You then develop a larger group of general motorists who see that nothing happens to taxi's or at worst, you lose R100 to a spot fine.

 

How often do you see an empty yellow line, yes, it may be momentary but as soon as one taxi pulls out, then a whole host of other taxi's and cars pull out as well.

[Patchelicious]

If the industry isn't taxed and regulated how can you expect standards of service delivery?

Roadworthiness and actually having a license isn't an industry standard thing that has anything to do with tax.

[(Deon)]

What a horror show. I hope the cyclist will heal up soon and have the courage to get back on the bike.

 

I have read through this post and I am feeling seriously angry and frustrated (de moer in). I drive to work every morning from Pta East towards Faerie Glen up Solomon Mahlangu Drive. There is a peloton of cyclists riding up Solomon Mahlangu.These are guys cycling to work from Mamelodi in full work gear on old bikes. Most of them wear yellow protective vests (handed out a while ago by the Round Table I think) and are very visible. The taxi's however simply drive up the drag on the left hand side (jumping the traffic light from the left turn lane @ Wapadrand) and they ran these guys off the road, without fail,every morning.

 

My anger and frustration stems from the absolute powerlessness one experience about this. The taxi situation is out of control (has been from day 1) and I really do not see a solution other than mass action which this whitey is too scared to participate in.

 

I wonder how free I really am as a cyclist, living in the city? I rather load my bike on my car and go to a bike park to ride and I have let go of any plans to own a road bike simply because of the dangers in the traffic. Not much freedom in that.

This is why I don't ride on the road and it's a shame because I am invited regularly.. I feel exactly that same anger as I'm sure everyone else posting here does. Well said.

[(Deon)]

 

Ok, I'll bite.

This is either not a well thought out post (which I very much doubt, judging from the usual quality of your posts), or it's deliberately contentious.

If the customers had an X3 in the garage, they would hop in and go to work in air-conditioned comfort. But, they are forced to take their lives in their hands on a daily basis to get to work and back, to put food on the table.

I think the view you have expressed is akin to blaming a woman for being raped.

Not at all. A woman being raped has no choice. The commuters know and understand very well the risks some -not all- drivers take. They know these guys by name and know exactly which taxis to avoid but don't.

 

What keeps people going back when a taxi mounts a kerb or drives into oncoming traffic and the passengers are told to "shut up".

 

Yet the driver is there the next day and you know what, he has another full load, breaking every law that is designed for our safety. So here's my point, could these type of accidents be avoided by taking matters as a community further.

 

 

And as for the this getting swept under the rug, maybe it is time or us as a community o take charge and stand up to cases like this been treated lightly. This as far as I understand the concept would be a prime case to institute a private prosecution, which as far as I understand the concept is where an individual that has been harmed by a crime takes the role of the state as prosecutor once the state confirmed that they will not prosecute a case.

 

This is how cyclists (among others) have chosen to make a change. You cannot tell me that due to lack of "privilege" people who commute by taxi cannot do the same? It is uncanny that a few posts later you are promoting that people stand up as a community for what they believe..

 

Look, don't get me wrong. The people are not to blame for what is happening on our streets but they do have the ability to bring about change..