Road angel - Experienced cabbie Elaine Jackson preaches safety and patience

Female cabbie Elaine Jackson is no ordinary driver manoeuvring Kingston's traffic maze on a daily basis. She has earned deep respect from fellow drivers and passengers alike, not just for her skills behind the wheel, but for her wisdom, calm presence, and deep-rooted faith.

Jackson didn't set out to be behind the wheel professionally, but said she became fed-up after spending years in corporate Jamaica.

"You get tired of the monopoly system, you always wait on somebody to sign off, delays cost you, and then you're being chewed up and spit out. Nobody takes accountability," she said.

After travelling between Jamaica and the US, she finally settled back home when her youngest daughter entered university in 2024.

"I didn't feel like travelling again," she said. With a car parked in her yard and bills to pay, Jackson took a leap of faith.

"One day I was sitting there and I said, 'God, what am I supposed to do?' And like Him say, 'go register the car with a company.'"

"At the time, I had no red plate, I had no idea what this work was about," she recalled.

But she enquired what was required to operate in the public transport system, got the necessary permits, and the rest is history.

Her relationship with driving began long before the automatic transmissions that dominate now.

"I learnt to drive from a stick shift. I learnt to drive from a truck," she said proudly.

"I failed the first time from the hill-start. No matter what I did, the handbrake would not go down," she laughed. "But the second time when I went and did it (the test), I passed it with flying colours."

Jackson's skill behind the wheel has never gone unnoticed. She says drivers often show her respect and are surprised by her control and discipline on the road.

"When other people see how I drive on the road they know I can drive well," she said. And her record backs it up: in over 30 years behind the wheel, she's only had a few tickets.

"If I have gotten eight tickets, I have got a lot. But it don't pass 10," she said, adding she has had only three accidents, none of which were her fault.

Her advice to women learning to drive is not to make the stigma bother or stop them.

"The more you drive, the more experience you get, and you will never stop learning to drive, especially if you change cars. Buy your own car and learn to drive, and make all the mistakes that you have with your car," she advised.

Today, she has found something deeper on Kingston's roads than the potholes and more rewarding then the fare she collects.

"One of the best things I have gotten from this is that I've met a lot of people who are very passionate for God. And I love that," Jackson reflected.

Her final words to motorists are simple but powerful:

"Please drive for other people on the road, be careful and cautious. Any time the spirit tells you to come off the road, come, that is God's way of telling you to just take a break."

A strong advocate for mental clarity and self-awareness behind the wheel, Jackson is urging all motorists to avoid speeding and to recognise when it's best to park and take a break.

"Even though road safety is promoted so broadly, people are impatient here. They don't believe in stopping," Jackson told THE STAR.

"If me late, a just so it go - me not speeding. I think that's when I drive the slowest, because what causes accidents the most is when you're uncoordinated. Your mind, brain, and whole body - if they're all over the place - when you feel like that, come off of the road, trust me," she advised.