A female passenger was forced to take the wheel of a taxi in the Johannesburg CBD when the driver was pepper sprayed, allegedly after getting into an argument with a metro police officer.

A video which @Itu_langa posted on Twitter shows the woman navigating the road in a taxi full of passengers while the driver, who is visibly distraught, deals with the burning sensation in his eyes.

@Itu_langa tweeted that the taxi driver had an argument with the metro police officer when he was pepper sprayed. 

In the clip, passengers guide the woman on how to drive the vehicle.

When it comes to a halt, the driver still helps her change gears while nursing his eyes.

One passenger even suggests that the female driver should get herself a code 14 driver's licence, to which she responds: "I have one." 

SowetanLive spoke to the impromptu driver, Tshepiso Shongwe, who told the publication that the taxi was on the way to Noord taxi rank earlier on Wednesday morning when the driver illegally veered into a lane of oncoming traffic.

"We were stopped by metro police but because the driver started fighting, he got pepper sprayed," she said.

Shongwe said another taxi driver offered to drive them to Noord taxi rank but wanted to be paid. She then kicked off her heels and took over driving duties. 

She said she needed help from the driver to change gears as the vehicle was "a skorokoro". 

The 35-year-old mother of two received R20 from the driver for taking the wheel. 

Ralph Jones, chairperson of the Johannesburg region of Santaco (SA National Taxi Council), and Johannesburg Metro Police Department spokesperson Wayne Minnaar told SowetanLive that they were unaware of the incident.

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