Our children are our responsibility – save them

It is amazing that while the KZN Department of Transport has embarked on a campaign to save school children from accidents caused by bakkies that transport them to school, there are some parents who say there is nothing abnormal because all modes of transport do cause accidents.

The Department is using its law enforcement unit to prevent bakkies from transporting children or people as in terms of the law, it is illegal to use bakkies as means of transport. Bakkies are believed to be posing a danger to child passengers.

At a recent protest against the Department’s action in Peitermaritzburg, bakkie owners and parents told the Head of Department Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa that the vehicles were not causing accidents in a way different to that of taxis, buses and trains.

Parents say that bakkies are advantageous because they go do to do collecting their kids and are affordable as they pay fares monthly. They also add that taxi people refuse to take children, saying that the money is too little.

Dr Mbanjwa told about a thousand fuming protesters that the Department will always do what is right for the safety of children who cannot just choose how they prefer to be transported.

"I have been checking our Mpimpa hotline recently and learnt that there were many complaints about bakkies transporting school children. Parents are concerned that vehicles are unroadworthy, speeding, overloading, driving with tail-gates open and children alighting from bakkies while in motion and consequently being knocked down by oncoming vehicles," he said.

According to statistics, between January and August 2004 a total of 10 493 road crashes involving bakkies and resulting in 124 deaths, 175 serious injuries and 2 218 slight injuries were reported in KZN.

In light of the above situation, from 30 August to 9 September 2004 a specialized enforcement operation by Public Transport Enforcement Unit (PTEU) targeting bakkies achieved the following results:

Bakkies stopped and checked – 15 867, bakkie drivers tested for alchohol – 10 325, bakkie drivers arrested for drinking and driving – 38, bakkie drivers charged for overloading - 56, total offences bakkie drivers charged for – 2 123, unroadworthy bakkies suspended - 470 and bakkie drivers arrested for illegally transporting passengers – 430.

The above figures exclude enforcement operations carried out by local authority traffic agencies, such as Durban Metro Police and others.

The Department of Transport has developed a scholar transport strategy as part of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Land Transport Framework.

During the development of the scholar transport strategy, some realities were identified and the following strategies were proposed to deal with those issues.

• A long-term strategy to develop an Integrated Transport Plan with special emphasis on scholar transport. There is also a medium term approach that seeks to develop a provincial scholar transport strategy in conjunction with all relevant stakeholders, such as the Department of Education, municipalities, as well as the taxi and bus industries.
• A short-term strategy to facilitate the formalisation of the scholar transport industry.
• Guidelines for the formalisation and legitimisation of scholar transport operators (those with legal vehicles) have been completed. These include registration with public transport registrar, obtaining permits from the Public Transport Licensing Board.

It is important to emphasise that this process covers only operators using legal transport mode, such as buses and kombis (but not bakkies).

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