Dear Editor,

Like many Jamaicans I welcomed the initiative of placing identifying marks on route taxis. I thought this was a step to once and for all organise and standardise what appeared to be a haphazard, disorganised and potentially dangerous mode of public transportation.

Upon seeing the scores of police officers deployed on pretty much every corner of the city and on our highways, I again thought that this was a positive step to maintaining law and order on the streets, as I expected that they formed a part of the checks and balances to the new transportation system; a system safe for both passengers and other road users alike.

Boy, was I wrong!

Based on my observation, apparently the only criteria required to receive the coveted chequered designation is having a car. I have seen these cars with parts falling off, with worn and defective tyres, and some basically looking as if they were pulled from a scrap heap.

I have seen tints darker than midnight on some of these vehicles and drivers dressed in undershirts, as apparently there is no observance of a dress code. There is no displayed identifier that the driver is even authorised to drive the vehicle, as I am aware that drivers are not necessarily the owners of the vehicles.

Apparently, the new chequered designation also comes with permission to disobey the road code, as many now drive like the “robots” of our recent past. I have now lost count of how many times since the beginning of this initiative that I have observed my vehicle or those of other road users being hit or almost hit by these taxis. Cutting traffic lines on the wrong side of the road, sudden braking, no use of indicators even if they have them, breaking of traffic lights, and stopping wherever they choose are just a few of the infractions that these menaces mete out to other road users on a daily basis.

These infractions happen in full view on every road and every intersection which I have traversed with these chequered menaces; even in the presence of police officers they continue to go unchecked. It has now reached the stage for me that the mere sight of the chequered cabs brings about feelings of trepidation and disgust.

I urge the traffic authorities to give this system a second look as, in its current form, it appears to be simply “putting clean clothes on dirty skin”. I ask as a road user and as someone whose family, friends and loved ones also have to use the roads. Let us not wait until someone else gets killed before we seek to address this situation.

Adrian Kerr

rrek23@yahoo.com