News24 reports that a research study conducted by a Wits University occupational therapist has revealed that poor working conditions contribute to the number of minibus taxi crashes in Johannesburg.

Bioethicist Dr Lee Randall indicated: “The public tends to vilify minibus taxi drivers and ascribe a high degree of moral responsibility to them, but this intuitive reasoning seems to disregard their work conditions and how these affect their driving behaviour.” In her research, Randall focused on the bioethics of road safety in the Johannesburg minibus taxi industry. "The taxi drivers I interviewed admitted to bad driving behaviour but linked this strongly to their work conditions," she noted. The study showed that minibus taxi drivers worked at least six days a week, 15 hours a day, with no UIF or overtime. They have to pay for their petrol, professional driving permits, licenses, taxi cleaning, and minor repairs. "From these stressful realities, they generate meagre incomes, like wages of as little as R200 per week plus any 'leftover' fares on good days," Randall pointed out. Due to their conditions, taxi drivers' survival strategies include speeding and overloading. Randall commented that the operating principles of the Joburg minibus taxi industry were 'contra-constitutional' in that they violated taxi drivers' labour rights and the human rights of drivers, passengers, and other road users. As a solution to the unaddressed issues, Randall looked to the Vision Zero philosophy, which originated in Sweden in the 1990s and assigns responsibilities both to road users and to system designers.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Cebelihle Mthethwa at News24

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