Thu | Mar 28, 2024

Rein in daredevil taxi drivers

Published:Wednesday | March 3, 2021 | 12:19 AM

THE EDITOR, Madam:

It is an indisputable fact that most Jamaican taxi drivers are a clear and present danger to motorists and pedestrians alike. In other words, a menace to society.

Daily, you can see these reckless drivers:

1. Barrel down the right lane of Dumfries Road on to Holborn Road, ignoring the line of traffic inching along in the left lane, and then charge in front to avoid oncoming vehicles;

2. Creep along the right filter lanes on Washington Boulevard, dart across three lanes of traffic as the light changes to green, and then stop suddenly to pick up or drop off passengers;

3. Exit Cassia Park Road on to Red Hills Road and then overtake traffic on the bend heading to the overhead bridge on Washington Boulevard.

Why are they allowed to endanger the lives of other motorists and pedestrians? Why are they allowed to operate with such wanton recklessness?

Sadly, it is simply because they can get away with driving unlawfully.

Our lawmakers talk a lot but rarely ever do anything. We have many traffic laws on our books, but are they effective?

The police seem overly lenient, and the traffic ticketing system is a joke.

These reckless drivers are competing in a never-ending race to see who can amass the most traffic tickets, as if it provides chances to win a lottery. Maybe it should, with the winners being awarded the prize of being guests of the State for a few years.

We are in dire need of action, ‘not a bagga mout’, from our lawmakers and zero-tolerance enforcement of our traffic laws from our police.

Are they any givers?

ROBERT SILENCE

theagitator72@gmail.com