Taxi drivers ‘ignorant of speed limit’

TAXI drivers often don’t know what the limit is, a research project has found.

The study, carried out by Dr Thinus Booysen, a senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University, focused on taxi drivers covering long distances between Cape Town and the Eastern Cape.

Booysen found that taxi drivers were often ignorant of the 100km/h speed limit for taxis and buses.

When the drivers were questioned about the speed limit, most claimed their limit on the route was 120km/h.

The drivers also blamed their passengers for speeding, saying they encouraged them to drive faster to get to their destinations on time.

A driver would also drive faster if he was not the owner of the vehicle. Speeds were about 10km/h higher if the driver did not own the taxi.

“With the voluntary assistance of drivers, I have been using detachable tracking devices to track long-distance minibus taxis over the past year,” said Booysens.

“Information captured includes speed, location and time, which allows me to look at arrival times, departure times, maximum speeds and average speeds for each road segment on the route.”

Booysens also evaluated road death statistics and the role taxis played in these.

He found taxis contributed proportionally little to road deaths.

“Although taxis do travel at a faster speed than required, they often travel at night when roads are deserted, and are therefore not the cause of the high road death toll,” said Booysens.

The maximum speeds recorded frequently exceeded 140km/h on almost all segments of the route, with a maximum recorded speed, across all taxis and segments, of 159km/h.

The median of the maximum recorded speeds was between 120km/h and 135km/h for all the segments from Worcester to Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape.

Of the vehicles travelling the route, speeding was blamed for 40 percent of the accidents caused by human error.

Only 5 percent of all the vehicles on the road are minibus taxis. It was found minibus taxis were involved in 8 percent of accidents and accounted for less than 5 percent of road deaths.

In the festive season, taxis run every day, taking and returning passengers – mostly through the night.

The drivers also continue their weekly urban driving upon arrival at their destinations, often without sleep.

Booysens suggested several ways in which to curb the speeding.

Drivers could be given shares or part ownership in the taxis. This way they would value their vehicles, as they would bring in income for them.

Booysens suggested that tracking devices be installed in the vehicles and monitored from a central location. – Daily News Correspondent