FOR how long will taxi operators be allowed to hold the country to ransom?

FOR how long will taxi operators be allowed to hold the country to ransom?

They blockade roads with impunity because they do not want to pay traffic fines.

And they get away with it. Their deathtrap vehicles are not supposed to be hauled off our roads. After all, they have the gall to show traffic officers the finger when they pack commuters like sardines in these vehicles. They are the worst road hogs this country will ever see.

Yet they demand sympathy from the public every time they are charged for breaking the law.

Indeed, they are a law unto themselves and enforcement officials at times baulk when they are supposed to throw the book at them.

Now they are disabling seatbelts despite reckless tendencies that have maimed and killed many passengers - their only source of income.

Because of this lawlessness the Road Accident Fund says it will not compensate victims of taxi accidents, claiming a seatbelt can reduce, if not stop, injuries and deaths in crashes.

Attorney Maditsi Mphela of Limpopo said in yesterday's Sowetan that he was battling to get compensation for two clients because the taxi did not have seatbelts.

South Africa has stomached this bullying for far too long.

Time for taxi commuters to use their financial muscle and show these operators who is boss. Speak and protect each other against these rogues.

Until our lame duck police - hope you are listening General Bheki Cele - flex their muscles, only you, the public, can stop this madness.