We are collectively culpable for Vanderbijlpark pupil deaths
This week, South Africans are reeling from the unimaginable tragedy of the deaths of 12 pupils who perished in a vehicular crash in Vanderbijlpark in the Vaal.
According to preliminary investigations, the pupils died, and some were injured, when their scholar transport minibus collided with a truck while attempting to overtake on a narrow stretch of road that is known to be very busy in the mornings.
Reports paint a harrowing picture of the aftermath of the horrific crash: a white Toyota Quantum lying on the side of the road with its body torn open and its roof crushed inward; silver forensic foil covering the bodies of the deceased children that were scattered along the roadside; school bags and uniforms flung into the nearby veld...
It is traumatic even just to think about.
In the aftermath of such a tragedy, it is only natural that accountability is demanded. The police have said that they’re investigating a case of culpable homicide against the scholar transport driver, who survived the horrific accident.
There’s no question he has significant culpability. Preliminary investigations indicate that he attempted to overtake several vehicles on the narrow road before colliding with the oncoming truck. The police have also confirmed that the vehicle was overloaded, carrying four more people than it was certified for.
But while it may be uncomfortable to hear this, the driver is not the only culpable person. A society that has thrown in the towel about the dangerous behaviours of taxi drivers is culpable for rewarding an industry that consistently places lives in danger.
All road users in our country know how lawless many minibus taxi drivers are. We witness it on the roads where they drive through red traffic lights and stop in dangerous areas to drop off passengers. When taxis do this, we accommodate them.
Across the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, taxis have claimed public spaces for themselves with little to no resistance. Pavements have been turned into taxi ranks, violating municipal by-laws. The government does not enforce these laws, allowing illegality to fester.
But it is not just the government that is the problem; we who drive our private cars as well as taxi passengers are also at fault. We move our own vehicles to give taxi drivers space to take illegal turns and make illegal stops.
Taxi passengers permit and even enable reckless driving by asking to be dropped off at illegal stops, saying nothing when drivers violate road rules, and even commending early arrival to their destinations, although this is often made possible by reckless and illegal driving.
We have accepted that taxi drivers can protest against Uber and Bolt services or even the development of the bus rapid transport (BRT) system and other integrated public transport initiatives. Yet, we do not use our collective power to protest against the taxi industry itself. We’re held hostage by the taxi industry as if we’re the only ones benefiting from it when in reality, the relationship is mutual.
Commuters are not the only ones who need taxis; the taxis need commuters too. Without commuters, there’s no revenue for the industry.
Taxis are not doing South Africans a favour, they are providing a service that is paid for. Why, then, have we surrendered our collective agency to the taxi industry? Why do we allow taxi drivers to gamble with our lives and the lives of our children and all road users in general?
Until South Africans recognise that we have the power to demand better conduct from the taxi industry, we will remain at the mercy of reckless drivers who endanger our lives. We owe it to those 12 deceased children to stand up against a problem we all know.
