WATCH | Scholar transport lawlessness deepens with more incidents reported

A scholar transport vehicle bursting into flames, a bakkie crashing into a bus ferrying 109 pupils, 60 vehicles impounded and the driver behind the deadly Vaal crash charged with 14 murders.

These are the troubling incidents that defined this week as in one accident 14 learners were killed when a truck collided head-on with a scholar transport vehicle on the Golden Highway in Vanderbijlpark on the Vaal.

The accident on Monday has brought into sharp focus the safety of learners using scholar transport across the country, vehicle roadworthiness and drivers’ behaviour on the roads.

Ayanda Dludla, 22, the driver of the minibus taxi in which the 14 pupils lost their lives, made his first court appearance at the Vanderbijlpark magistrate’s court on Thursday, where he faced 14 counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and reckless driving. The state alleges he caused the accident, as videos of him trying to overtake several cars before the crash have emerged.

Dludla abandoned his bail application yesterday and is due back in court in March.

Yesterday, a Toyota Hilux bakkie collided head-on with a bus carrying 109 pupils on the R510 near the Amandelbult Mine in Limpopo. The bakkie driver, a 58-year-old man, died on the scene.

“The report we got from our control is that the Toyota driver was overtaking cars in front of him,” said Limpopo transport department spokesperson Matome Taueatsoala. “He collided head-on with the Volkswagen bus which was carrying school children.”

The children sustained minor injuries and were taken to hospitals for treatment. A total of 103 learners were transported to Thabazimbi provincial hospital, and six were taken to Amandelbult hospital.

“The possible cause of the accident is attributed to reckless driving,” the department said in a statement. “The department extends its condolences to the family of the deceased driver and wishes the injured learners a speedy recovery.”

On the same morning in Gauteng, a minibus taking two children to school burst into flames in Vosloorus Ext 7.

Ekurhuleni disaster and emergency management services spokesperson William Ntladi said firefighters received a call just after 6am about a vehicle on fire on Inyetsane Street.

“On arrival, the flames had consumed the vehicle, and fortunately both children and the driver successfully escaped with no injuries.”

It is believed the fire was started by an electrical fault in the engine compartment.

Some 50km away, transport minister Barbara Creecy led an operation in Lenasia, south of Joburg, that resulted in the arrest of three scholar transporters for “significant overloading”.

“There have [also] been 60 vehicles impounded,” she said, adding that the operators will be told how they can get their vehicles released “and how they can legalise their operations and provide safe transport for our children”.

During the blitz, a bus which was licensed to carry 60 learners was stopped with 98 learners on board.

In Polokwane, Limpopo transport department officials stopped a seven-seater car that was overloaded with 27 learners. The driver allegedly abandoned the vehicle and ran away.

The province said it has clamped down on 91 scholar transport drivers since the schools opened for contravening transport legislation.

Most of the vehicles that were impounded by the department were found without the legal permits for scholar transport drivers, and some didn’t meet roadworthiness and safety requirements.

Speaking at the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa demanded action to ensure that scholar transport is safe and reliable.

In Mpumalanga, Thulasizwe Thomo, the MEC for public works, roads and transport, told Sowetan that since the traffic authorities started conducting operations on Monday, 336 vehicles that were transporting learners illegally would no longer be allowed to operate in the province.

Sowetan