Traffic and Minibus Taxi's (Matatu's)

So, as of Monday this week the JMPD (Johannesburg Metro Police Department) are arresting drivers that are driving recklessly inside the CBD and on the mayor highways in and around the city. For my foreign readers this might not mean a lot, but I'm sure my Kenyan readers will understand this very well.

You see, as South Africa (Or Joburg specifically) has no real public transport system to speak about, most working class South Africans are forced to use Minibus Taxi's for their daily commute. These guys have a total disregard for their passenger and other road users - I'm generalizing, but the same applies in Nairobi with the Matatus. (Or in other African Capitals, really) They tend to overload their vehicles, speed, overtake when not safe, drive in the emergency lane etc etc. I feel very sorry for the poor folks that have to use these taxi's every day - it must be terrible to fear for your life every time you commute to work...

Anyway, to get back to my story - in the past Taxi drivers just ignored the JMPD when they received a ticket for a traffic violation, and things got worse over time. Now, with better vehicles (Mercedes Sprinters and Toyota Quantum's) they are also driving really fast - which leads to horrific accidents taking place. So, JMPD have decided to arrest folks (Not just taxi drivers, everybody) that drive in the Emergency lane, exceed the speed limit by more than 60kph, skip red traffic lights and overtake into oncoming traffic.

This means that as of this morning, 120 extra traffic cops are on Joburg's roads to keep us law abiding citizens safe - and you can see the difference. My commute was a whole 20 minutes shorter than usual just because everybody followed the rules. AMAZING!

Well done JMPD - for once, I'm a happy camper!

TTFN