Self-made traffic controller limps back after accident

Despite being hit by a car, sustaining injuries on his head and spine which resulted in a permanent limp, Jimmy Tshikosi, 42, is not showing any signs of retiring from his informal trade of being an illegal traffic controller.

He was knocked down by a car in January while controlling traffic on Witkoppen Road and Riverbend Road in the north of Johannesburg. At the time, traffic lights had not been working in the area.

Despite his long hospital stay and numerous medical check-ups that followed,  poverty brought Tshikosi back to the street that nearly killed him.

He lives alone in Diepsloot and works as a queue marshal at an informal taxi rank along William Nicol Drive in Johannesburg. He has been working as a marshal for 10 years.

“I was controlling traffic and a driver had just hit two cyclists when I saw his car coming towards me. I tried to stop it but the driver drove right into me. I woke up in hospital four days later,” Tshikosi recalled.

He was admitted at Helen Joseph Hospital.

The father of three children aged 23, 13 and 12 said he now has constant pain to his spinal cord, head, hands and walks with a limp.

Following his hospital admission which lasted for weeks, Tshikosi said he had to go for check-ups and X-ray scans at the hospital for his injuries.

“After I was discharged from the hospital I was told to sit at home for six weeks but I did not do that. I cannot. What am I going to eat? I am going to do this because I need to survive. I need food to eat. I do not want to do crime. I was not born to do crime,” said a teary Tshikosi when Sowetan spoke to him this week.

His children live with his mother in Venda, Limpopo. Tshikosi said he started manning traffic in 2014 on Witkoppen Road.

“When there is load-shedding or it is raining and the traffic lights are not working, there is usually a lot of traffic. I help direct traffic and pedestrians to cross the road,” said Tshikosi.

“Joburg is a very busy place. It is not easy to drive around in Joburg. I am doing this to assist women and learner drivers who need assistance to be able to drive without any struggles. Some of them panic when they see traffic congestion and start to worry about clutch balance,”  he said.

Tshikosi said he has had encounters where motorists would not obey his hand signals  because he had not put on a reflective jacket. Some motorists would hurl insults at him and say “you are not the police”.

“Some of the drivers would not listen to me. They will not stop their cars when I tell them to stop. At least other drivers are very kind towards me and tell me that I am doing a good job,” said Tshikosi.

Tshikosi said the highest amount he has been paid is R250 on a single day and the lowest R10.

“I will continue doing what I am doing so that I can help pedestrians cross the road and allow cars to move freely. I just want to help the community,” said Tshikosi.