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Crack down on road hog cabbies

Published:Friday | August 30, 2019 | 12:00 AM

THE EDITOR, Sir:

There has not been enough official talk or action to deter the danger so many taxi operators pose to all road users daily.

Since the start of the year, I have not been able to make my way to work without being dangerously cut off by a taxi driver, witnessing or receiving verbal abuse from a cabbie, having to manoeuvre skilfully to avoid collision with a taxi driver who has stopped abruptly for passengers or for a mid-road conversation, or being delayed as they create bottlenecks by boring into traffic.

Several taxi operators act as though they are above the law because when one respectfully confronts them about an unlawful behaviour, they give you an earful of shamefully inappropriate language.

The endangerment caused by recklessly hurrying to destinations and stopping wantonly in the road has long reached unbearable levels. A colleague of mine related that during a recent morning commute last week, she arrived at a location in Portmore where a female pedestrian had just been mowed down by two racing taxi drivers.

This is, therefore, an urgent appeal to the Government of Jamaica to:

- Install large-scale advertising to encourage use of platforms such as the Transport Authority’s commendable initiative of a dedicated WhatsApp number that allows civilians to submit videos showing the licence plates of PPV drivers committing traffic offences.

- Mobilise a team involving the Transport Authority, the Inland Revenue Department, and the police to apprehend and immediately revoke the licences of these offenders, as well as to identify and charge owners/drivers of vehicles bearing unassigned licence plates.

SAM BROWN

isam.brown81@gmail.com