A taxi driver has been convicted on a charge of reckless and negligent driving by the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court, following testimony by one of the City of Cape Town’s Ghost Squad officers.
According to a statement by Mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, the man was sentenced to a R10 000 fine or 200 days imprisonment last week and fined an additional R1 000 for being an unlicensed driver.
Smith says the taxi driver was one of six arrested by the Ghost Squad on 27 September 2016. Officers were attending to a complaint of reckless and negligent driving on Valhalla Drive in Bishop Lavis. He says the taxi driver was travelling along Valhalla Drive, cut across a painted island, disobeyed a solid line, and caused vehicles driving in the right lane of oncoming traffic to swerve and take evasive action to avoid a collision.
He further drove more than 200 metres on the wrong side of the road. It happened to be raining on the morning in question and the roads were very wet, making his actions even more dangerous.
The driver’s excuse was that he was late as a result of the bad weather.
“That’s neither here nor there. The fact is, the rules of the road stand, come rain or shine. This is a very good conviction and I tip my hat to the Ghost Squad but also the National Prosecuting Authority for bringing this case to a conclusion. We take a lot of flak as a result of perceptions that the lawlessness of taxi drivers goes unpunished. Hopefully this conviction will go some way to changing those perceptions. It should also send a message to others that there are consequences for bad behaviour,” says Smith.
