Perilous Taxi Drivers in Sharjah

You’ve probably heard dozens of jokes about the driving techniques of American taxi drivers, some true and some mere fodder for a couple of laughs. But an ocean away in Sharjah there ain’t no one laughing at the poor state of taxi services, run by Sharjah Transport, in the rich Gulf emirate. In a recent crackdown by the transport authority, to test the driving skills of its taxi drivers, a whopping 18% failed miserably and are considered to be risks on the road.

As a result, the Sharjah Transport Authority recently held a series of training courses to reeducate taxi drivers on the basics of safe driving. However, there was an interesting twist to the courses that included a congeniality class to teach the drivers how to conduct themselves when dealing with paying passengers.

According to a substantial 4,500 complaints registered with Sharjah Transport’s hotline back in 2009, the taxi drivers have been inflicting their own reign of terror upon unsuspecting passengers. Some of the complaints included stinky taxi drivers who did not even wear a proper uniform. Other complaints included taxi drivers arguing with passengers and overspeeding.

The Director General of Sharjah Transport, Abdullah Al Zari, has high hopes for the drivers who have successfully been rehabilitated in the art of taxi driving, “The objective of the training courses was to create a new generation of drivers aware of the traffic rules and who adhere to safe driving regulations, which in turn minimizes the number of accidents caused by drivers.”

Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? There is however some bad news. More than 18% of the taxi drivers that participated in the courses failed them too. And instead of sending them packing, Sharjah Transport is going to send them through another round of courses until they get it right. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Shhheeez.

Source: Gulf News