A taxi suffered an unfortunate fate last night after it was consumed by a massive pothole in the Joburg CBD. A security camera caught the event as the taxi totalled and unfortunately landed in the open crevice at quite the speed.
After the consistent rainfall in the city, potholes have become larger, deeper and more treacherous than before but this straddles the definitions between a pothole and a crevice on the road surface.
Corner Market and Delvers JHB CBD. Taxi lands in massive pothole. pic.twitter.com/tUeFW5EHxB
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) April 11, 2022
Headlights from the white Hiace taxi are seen approaching the single lane section of road adjacent to the Rea Vaya bus stop. Travelling at a considerable speed, the driver is seen entering the frame with his brake lights illuminated; however, efforts to slow down were done in vain as the minibus ramps an elevated part of the road before being flung towards the trench which is directly below.
Once the taxi comes to a rest in the massive pothole, a pedestrian is seen running up to the stationary vehicle just before the driver is seen exiting from his door. It is unknown whether passengers were in transit although it seems unlikely at the late hour that this incident took place.
The taxi has without a doubt suffered considerable front damage after coming to such an abrupt stop. We can only imagine the owner of the vehicle will expect the City of Johannesburg municipality to pay for damages since this pothole is a clear violation of road safety and public liability
The incident took place at the corner of Market and Delvers in the CBD of Johannesburg, a block away from the Carlton Centre. Johannesburg and its surrounds suffer from infrastructure neglect on a vast scale, particularly after heavy rainfall where potholes and sinkholes reduce parts of the public roads to ruin. If only the pothole detection system available on Mercedes-Benz products was retrofitable to older vehicles!
