Motorists travelling on Wilgerood Road in the morning are having a hard time due to taxi drivers disobeying the road laws at various intersections.
According to one of our readers, a motorist who uses the road daily, every morning is a fight to avoid an accident or being pushed off the road by the taxis.
“This is really getting out of hand in the morning. I believe the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is aware of the problem, but they just don’t care,” she said.
She explained that, every weekday morning, cars queue up on Matrys Avenue, waiting to turn right onto Wilgerood Road. “We all wait patiently for the traffic light to turn green so we can turn onto Wilgerood Road. We give the people that want to turn into Matrys Avenue from Opal Avenue, a chance to turn in front of us – it is polite and we are all helping one other.
There is only one lane for each direction of traffic on both Matrys and Opal Avenues, but apparently this doesn’t apply to the taxis. They use the oncoming side of both streets so that they don’t have to sit in the traffic and wait their turn. In other words, they use both road lanes in the same direction, instead of using the road as it is meant to be used. Then, when a law-abiding driver gets to the front of the queue to turn onto Wilgerood Road, he/ she has to dodge the taxis or make an extra-wide turn so the taxis don’t hit his/ her car, because they are using the wrong side of the road.”
She also mentioned that, once drivers have turned on to Wilgerood Road, they let out a sigh of relief because they didn’t get hit or pushed off the road. Motorists have indicated that they will now be considering alternative options and routes in the mornings, to get to where they are heading.
“It is just amazing that there is never a JMPD officer around to see this. It is a daily struggle, and I bet I am not the first to complain about this. But, what is worse is that other drivers are now imitating the taxi drivers. And, there is no time to take out your cellphone to take videos or pictures of it, because you are too busy concentrating and praying that you make it to work in one piece,” she said.
In an attempt to resolve this matter, the Record contacted the JMPD spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar, who in turn escalated it to the JMPD Roodepoort Area Commander, Deputy Director Sisa Mvumvu.
