Buses to undergo compulsory regular roadworthiness test

AS from April this year all public transport vehicles will undergo compulsory roadworthiness tests in every six months, KZN Minister of Transport Sbu Ndebele has announced.

Mr Ndebele said focus has always been on the taxi industry to make them safe for the public, and that now it was time to pay more attention on buses as one incident of bus carnage involving a bus often takes the lives of a number of people.

"Now the bus accidents we saw recently opened our eyes as we had thought things were better. If there are accidents we always ask ourselves what we have not done that could have prevented those accidents," he said.

As a result, Mr Ndebele said his Department decided to shorten the period from 12 months to six months for public transport to undergo roadworthiness tests. This includes taxis and buses and trucks.

Mr Ndebele pointed out that carnage on our roads did not only affect victims of road carnage and their relatives and friends, but also paramedics, traffic officers, members of the SAPS and government officials also feel the pain and trauma.

"Imagine when you have to attend one accident after another and you constantly have to see dead bodies, burnt and badly injured people, and you have to drag them from underneath vehicles - when you go to sleep at night, your mind will recall all those horrific experiences," the Minister observed.

He added: "That is why we encourage religious leaders and their followers to visit the traumatised families continuously to give them moral support. They must not only end their role when they say ashes to ashes and dust to dust."

Ndebele also encouraged bus companies to consult the Department if there were circumstances that forced them to overload. He said one of the objectives of subsidies is to ensure that public transport is safe, efficient and affordable.

From Igalelo: The Official Newsletter of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport. January/February 2004.

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