Taxis a menace and nuisance: Tjiriange

ACCIDENTS on Namibian roads have become a grave concern, with many lives lost as a result of negligent driving by some road users.

Just last weekend, a Cabinet Minister was involved in an accident with his official vehicle, in which a small boy was killed. “Taxi drivers behave as if traffic laws don’t exist for them,” Veterans’ Affairs Minister Ngarikutuke Tjiriange said in Parliament last week, when contributing to the debate on road accidents.”Taxis are a menace, danger and nuisance, do not respect other road users and ignore most of the traffic regulations,” he added.Tjiriange accused taxi drivers of parking their vehicles on yellow lines, changing from one lane to another and thus “causing havoc” on streets and roads, and making sudden U-turns at places where it was prohibited just to rush for a customer.”They also stop suddenly in the middle of a street, either offloading or picking up a customer and they make irritating noises like excessive hooting in an attempt to attract attention of potential passengers.”Tjiriange said that the safety of the public was compromised by taxi drivers who wanted to make a quick profit.”As if that was not enough, many taxis are now used to commit crimes, while some taxi drivers have resorted to violent crimes against their passengers who get into their cars, robbing them of their valuables.Female passengers are no longer safe in taxis where they are targeted in particular, as they are often driven to a remote spot, robbed and raped,” he added.Such rape victims could contract HIV-AIDS on top of suffering serious trauma.Tjiriange proposed that each taxi should receive an individual number to be displayed in large letters on the vehicle and they should get a distinct number plate, which would be easily distinguishable.”Laws should be tightened so that taxi licences can be withdrawn quickly and promptly from annoying taxis.”The Minister also mentioned that loading zones for long-distance taxis and buses were often chaotic, with aggressive drivers trying to “grab potential passengers and their luggage from all sides” to make them board their vehicles instead of allowing passengers to choose their own bus.Former Works and Transport Minister Moses Amweelo presented shocking statistics to the House, which he had obtained from the National Road Safety Council.Between 2002 and 2005, a period of just four years, some 43 000 accidents were reported, in which 1 100 people died and 13 600 were injured.Most of these accidents – 53 per cent – occurred in the Khomas Region, followed by Erongo (11 per cent), Otjozondjupa (8,6 per cent) and Oshana (8,4 per cent).However, the death toll was highest in Erongo, where an average of 44 people a year died in accidents, followed by Oshana (42) and Khomas (30).Amweelo argued that many people drove too fast and thus lost control over their vehicles.”Traffic officers should be encouraged to enforce traffic laws more firmly and a law should be passed to make it mandatory for vehicles to have their lights on during the day.”In his contribution, Sport, Youth and Culture Minister John Mutorwa noted that the Road Traffic and Transport Act of 1999 provided for a Transportation Commission, one of whose duties should be to advise the Transport Minister on traffic issues.”Is the Commission in place and who are the members serving on it?” Mutorwa asked.He recommended that education and awareness campaigns on traffic rules and safe driving should be done regularly during the year and not just before Easter and Christmas.Deputy Finance Minister Tjekero Tweya quoted other statistics that he had obtained from a different source, which he did not name.According to him, 10 000 accidents happened on average each year and for the period between 2001 and 2005 that came to 53 343 accidents.”Collisions caused about 20 per cent of all accidents in the past five-year period,” Tweya said.”A comparative analysis of accidents for the years 2003 to 2005 revealed that most accidents occurred between six and eight in the morning and 52 per cent of accidents are caused by light vehicles, five per cent of accidents involved heavy vehicles and 35 per cent had light delivery vans involved,” the Deputy Minister said, quoting from a ‘Draft Road Collision Report’ of 2005.”According to statistics, the registered vehicle population is growing at a rate of five per cent each year – is our road network responding to this growth?” he concluded his contribution.The debate continues.”Taxi drivers behave as if traffic laws don’t exist for them,” Veterans’ Affairs Minister Ngarikutuke Tjiriange said in Parliament last week, when contributing to the debate on road accidents.”Taxis are a menace, danger and nuisance, do not respect other road users and ignore most of the traffic regulations,” he added.Tjiriange accused taxi drivers of parking their vehicles on yellow lines, changing from one lane to another and thus “causing havoc” on streets and roads, and making sudden U-turns at places where it was prohibited just to rush for a customer.”They also stop suddenly in the middle of a street, either offloading or picking up a customer and they make irritating noises like excessive hooting in an attempt to attract attention of potential passengers.”Tjiriange said that the safety of the public was compromised by taxi drivers who wanted to make a quick profit.”As if that was not enough, many taxis are now used to commit crimes, while some taxi drivers have resorted to violent crimes against their passengers who get into their cars, robbing them of their valuables.Female passengers are no longer safe in taxis where they are targeted in particular, as they are often driven to a remote spot, robbed and raped,” he added.Such rape victims could contract HIV-AIDS on top of suffering serious trauma.Tjiriange proposed that each taxi should receive an individual number to be displayed in large letters on the vehicle and they should get a distinct number plate, which would be easily distinguishable.”Laws should be tightened so that taxi licences can be withdrawn quickly and promptly from annoying taxis.”The Minister also mentioned that loading zones for long-distance taxis and buses were often chaotic, with aggressive drivers trying to “grab potential passengers and their luggage from all sides” to make them board their vehicles instead of allowing passengers to choose their own bus.Former Works and Transport Minister Moses Amweelo presented shocking statistics to the House, which he had obtained from the National Road Safety Council.Between 2002 and 2005, a period of just four years, some 43 000 accidents were reported, in which 1 100 people died and 13 600 were injured.Most of these accidents – 53 per cent – occurred in the Khomas Region, followed by Erongo (11 per cent), Otjozondjupa (8,6 per cent) and Oshana (8,4 per cent).However, the death toll was highest in Erongo, where an average of 44 people a year died in accidents, followed by Oshana (42) and Khomas (30).Amweelo argued that many people drove too fast and thus lost control over their vehicles.”Traffic officers should be encouraged to enforce traffic laws more firmly and a law should be passed to make it mandatory for vehicles to have their lights on during the day.”In his contribution, Sport, Youth and Culture Minister John Mutorwa noted that the Road Traffic and Transport Act of 1999 provided for a Transportation Commission, one of whose duties should be to advise the Transport Minister on traffic issues.”Is the Commission in place and who are the members serving on it?” Mutorwa asked.He recommended that education and awareness campaigns on traffic rules and safe driving should be done regularly during the year and not just before Easter and Christmas.Deputy Finance Minister Tjekero Tweya quoted other statistics that he had obtained from a different source, which he did not name.According to him, 10 000 accidents happened on average each year and for the period between 2001 and 2005 that came to 53 343 accidents.”Collisions caused about 20 per cent of all accidents in the past five-year period,” Tweya said.”A comparative analysis of accidents for the years 2003 to 2005 revealed that most accidents occurred between six and eight in the morning and 52 per cent of accidents are caused by light vehicles, five per cent of accidents involved heavy vehicles and 35 per cent had light delivery vans involved,” the Deputy Minister said, quoting from a ‘Draft Road Collision Report’ of 2005.”According to statistics, the registered vehicle population is growing at a rate of five per cent each year – is our road network responding to this growth?” he concluded his contribution.The debate continues.