Victoria Falls police warn taxi operators

POLICE in Victoria Falls have warned taxi operators against employing underage drivers, saying they were responsible for the majority of hit and run accidents in the resort town.

Police convened an urgent meeting recently with taxi operators and taxi associations at the Vehicle Inspection Depot following complaints that the majority of taxis were being driven by unlicenced and underage drivers.

Addressing the meeting, Officer-in-Charge-traffic Victoria Falls, Inspector Lawrence Mandaza said police were geared to weed out all underage and unlicenced drivers from the road.

“We are here to remind operators of the requirements for one to be a taxi operator because we are concerned about safety on roads. Some operators employ unlicensed and underage drivers who are very much excited when driving and end up committing crimes. There are a number of hit and runs caused by underage drivers that we have experienced in Victoria Falls,” said Insp Mandaza without giving statistics.

He urged taxi operators to be in possession of Road Motor Transportation Act, Statutory Instrument 134 of 1998 and SI 168 of 2006, which spells out how they should conduct business and prohibit people below the age of 25 to drive a public service vehicle, among other stipulations.