Girl tries to spin off cops

2003-12-17 22:16

Craig Bishop

Durban - A 16-year-old girl who was caught transporting passengers in her father's minibus taxi outside Richmond has been arrested.

The girl, who cannot be named as she is a minor, was taken into police custody on Wednesday after she tried to do a hand brake turn and escape from traffic officers on the road between Inhlazuka township and Richmond.

Although she is two years too young to have a driver's licence, and five years too young to have a professional drivers' permit to transport people, she is apparently a regular and well-known figure on the 17km taxi circuit route from Inhlazuka to Richmond.

There are also two warrants of arrest out for her, both of which she has ignored.

The girl was carrying several passengers, one of whom admitted to traffic police that she had paid a fare.

Khumalo said he had personally warned the girl not to drive the taxi, and her father on two occasions not to let his daughter anywhere near the driver's seat and to make sure his taxi was roadworthy before letting it back on the roads.

"But she is still driving and the taxi is still on the road. She apparently saw the cops up ahead and tried to turn around, then her driving became all shaky and she was stopped," he said.

The girl's father will also be charged.

- The Witness