Who would have guessed that we would live to see the day when a minibus taxi driver complains about reckless driving?

Who would have guessed that we would live to see the day when a minibus taxi driver complains about reckless driving?

But our country never ceases to amaze. Taxi driver Themba Makhasa, from KwaZulu-Natal, is complaining that the province's Department of Transport is losing the fight against the carnage on the road.

"I do not think it is only the department that should take the blame. Drivers are arrogant and do not care about safety," he says.

Makhasa should know; he is a minibus taxi driver after all. And there is no shortage of statistics to attest to the fact that kamikaze taxi drivers account for a huge chunk of the carnage on our roads.

At least he is not in denial and admits that drivers, including taximen, are the major cause of accidents on our roads. And we know how crucial admitting one's problem is to the process of healing.

We repeat Makhasa's observation that more visible policing would go a long way towards enforcing respect for the rules of the road, thus promoting safety and decimating the high death toll on our roads.

Seeing as charity begins at home, let's hope the actions of this conscientious taxi driver from KZN match his words.

Our roads would be much safer if his conduct were emulated by other taximen across the country.