Taxi Madness

THE fatal shooting of a taxi driver as reported in The Namibian of 9 July 2004 is sad and one of the results is that a policeman now stands accused of murder.

While the legal process will take its course regarding the shooting and the families on both sides will have to get to terms with what has happened, there is another underlying issue that has to be addressed as a matter of urgency. A large number of taxi drivers go about their business without any consideration whatsoever for their fellow road users.For example, they think absolutely nothing thereof to obscure traffic by stopping in streets and junctions to load/ offload passengers.This happens with such regularity and on such a large scale that one must conclude that our traffic police are loosing the battle of maintaining law and order.A decisive intervention to strengthen the capacity of law-enforcement agents in this regard is necessary.Another measure that should be given due consideration is to make the road system more taxi friendly.This can be done by creating more drop-off zones next to the streets where taxis can briefly stop to load/ offload passengers.Such drop-off zones should be placed near those positions where taxi drivers mostly look for a place to make a brief stop, and should allow taxis to drive in and out therefrom without having to reverse.F Becker Via E-MailA large number of taxi drivers go about their business without any consideration whatsoever for their fellow road users.For example, they think absolutely nothing thereof to obscure traffic by stopping in streets and junctions to load/ offload passengers.This happens with such regularity and on such a large scale that one must conclude that our traffic police are loosing the battle of maintaining law and order.A decisive intervention to strengthen the capacity of law-enforcement agents in this regard is necessary.Another measure that should be given due consideration is to make the road system more taxi friendly.This can be done by creating more drop-off zones next to the streets where taxis can briefly stop to load/ offload passengers.Such drop-off zones should be placed near those positions where taxi drivers mostly look for a place to make a brief stop, and should allow taxis to drive in and out therefrom without having to reverse.F Becker Via E-Mail