Third World Driving ...

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Tue 26 Mar 2002 10:23
Third World Driving ... - ian (cape town)
Here's what I have to put up with on the roads...

What should have been a normal drive back from school for a group of Kimberley pupils in the Northern Cape turned into a nightmare when traffic officials stopped their taxi - into which all 33 of them had been squashed.

The children, aged between 6 and 13, were crammed into their private 16-seater taxi along with the driver and his helper on Monday.

About eight of the children were found sitting next to the driver, who was counted as the 34th occupant of the taxi, not including his helper, which makes a total of 35.

The driver of the taxi, who already has two other warrants of arrest against his name, was arrested and given a R1 500 fine.

Describing the overloaded vehicle as one of the worst cases he had ever seen, local traffic monitor Christopher Langford said that what had made the situation worse was the fact that the passengers "were just children".

"The whole thing was bad in that these were children in there, and children are difficult to handle.

"The taxi itself was also in a shocking condition. Three wheel nuts were missing from one of the wheels and another two were missing on another wheel.

"Two of the back tyres were worn out, while one of the windows was broken and only had a plastic sheet over it," said Langford.
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Tue 26 Mar 2002 12:43
Re: Third World Driving ... - Rob Cook
They would have probably been alright in a crash.
Like wearing a four point harness, if the kids were all crammed in together no-one would have been flung about.

What annoys me here is unrestrained kids in cars. It's as if the parent is so confident in his/her driving skill that he/she is prepared to bet the life of their child to prove it.
And then a silly mistake which might have resulted in a slight bruise, ends up with a child through the screen, and a third party blaming themselves for the death of a child, and the parent blaming the third party for the death of their child.
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Tue 26 Mar 2002 19:16
Re: Third World Driving ... - Honest John
Makes a change from the Indonesian family notorcycle. That's right: Dad, Mum and three kids all on the same Honda 90.

HJ
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