As all South Africans know, most minibus taxi drivers routinely flout the traffic laws. We have mostly learnt to live with it. However, it remains unacceptable that this culture of criminality exists and that the rest of society accepts it. In particular, when the traffic authorities ignore law-breaking, they encourage a culture that endangers road users (pedestrians, cyclists and motorists) as well as the passengers for whom taxis are often the only option. I intend using this post to expose the behaviour of the Cape Town Metro Police that I believe endangers us all. A few days ago I witnessed from my balcony a traffic officer asking taxi drivers parking illegally on a red line in the middle of an intersection to pick up passengers to move — but not issuing them with fines or taking any other action. I have also at the same spot witnessed traffic offices passing this blatant flouting of the law without even stopping. This is unacceptable. I hope to record a video of this happening. In the mean time, here is a video showing what the taxis do throughout the day.
Here’s another example of the brazen lawlessness taking place in Strand Street, Cape Town: