A taxi driver allegedly flouting lockdown laws — and a few other rules of the road — abandoned his vehicle and tried to escape on foot when he spotted a roadblock.

The incident unfolded on the N1 near Grasmere.

After an intense chase that led to metro police criss-crossing the highway on foot, the taxi driver was eventually nabbed.

The Johannesburg metro police department discovered he had been driving with a learner’s licence and the taxi's licence disc had expired in 2018.

Metro police impounded the vehicle.

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula was at the roadblock and witnessed the chase.

He chatted to passengers in the minibus, expressing surprise at the vehicle's worn tyres and malfunctioning parts.

“So the door doesn’t even open,” he said to them.