Taxi Drivers In My City

Lately I have been on the road having to run some errands with my dad. When driving what surprises me is the way other people drive particularly the taxi drivers or as we called them in Ibadan Micra. They got that name from the brand of car that is commonly used by them. Infact all of them use it. It has become a kind of identity for them. A person will think twice before entering a cab that isn't Micra.

They don't have the taxi sign that is normally placed on top of the car but there is a sticker that is pasted on the windshield and also a particular color that the car is painted with. All of this help in identifying taxis. Each state have their own color. For mine it is maroon and red.

Back to the article. The taxi drivers in my city are crazy and I will explain why. They drive anyhow with no care at all. They drive their vehicles as if they are the only ones on the road and do not have respect for any other driver at all. It is only their fellow taxi driver that they respect and show a little sanity for.

They move their vehicles with reckless abandon and are at a high risk of causing an accident or being involved in one. Most times it is fatal taking their life and that of their passenger. They barely look before entering the road or turning into a junction. It's as if they are always in a haste and have to get to their destination quickly but most times they don't have to. I think it is in their blood to behave like that. That's just their natural setting. Their blood is always hot and they can never seem to calm down.

When they are now in trouble that's when you see their calm side. After hitting the vehicle of an important person or a military personnel you will see them on their knees begging for mercy since they know that they can't pay for the damages. If the car is very expensive that just makes matters worse. If the owner of the car is not kind or does not have the fear of God in him/her that taxi driver will sleep in a police cell and will remain there until he can fix the car.

I used the pronoun he because all of them that drive recklessly are men. You wouldn't see a woman driving a taxi talkless of driving recklessly. I don't think they have that in their blood. Always driving with so much calm and patience, taking their time much to the annoyance of fellow drivers. I am starting to wonder why it is only men that behave like this. Is it the environment that is having an effect on them?

I have had many experiences with taxi drivers in my city too numerous to mention. Most of them are not pleasant but I least I survived. I have nearly been hit by their vehicles and sometimes embarrassed by them. No manners at all. They don't care about pedestrians on the road. When they see you crossing that's when they press the gas pedal. It is quite unfortunate.

I just think that all of them should go for a psychiatric evaluation because they are certainly not okay upstairs and that's me being kind with my use of words. The government also needs to step in and do something about this urgently because it is quickly getting out of hand. Lives and properties are lost on daily basis because of their reckless driving. People are scared of crossing the road because they are afraid that they will become another victim of a hit and run, just another statistics.