KZN Transport Department vows to come down on bakkie transport

Published May 8, 2017

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DURBAN - As from Thursday, no one on a public road can transport school children or any other person in the goods compartment of a vehicle.

The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mxolisi Kaunda accepted the new amendments regulating the transportation of pupils and people in the goods compartment of a vehicle, especially bakkies, for reward.

KwaZulu-Natal is one of the provinces hit the most by crashes involving bakkies transporting pupils to school. These include crashes that took place in eMbali township in Pietermaritzburg at the beginning of 2015, which took the lives of seven pupils and another accident in Rietvlei, Mooi River, which took the lives of five others.

Kaunda said the department did not wait for the new regulations to come into affect as they had always conducted operations that targetted unsafe vehicles, which transport learners to school.

He however said the new amendments will assist in intensifying the law enforcement operations in order to curb road crashes and fatalities.

“To enforce the new regulations, our provincial and municipal traffic officers will be visible and conduct operations in township, cities and rural areas to ensure that there is full compliance with the law,” said Kaunda.

Next week, Kaunda will meet with the regional and station commanders of the Road Traffic Inspectorate to discuss issues regarding law enforcement and the new regulations, on Thursday.

“In line with our radical socio-economic transformation programme, we will also be engaging people transporting children on bakkies, working together with the South African National Taxi Council, within which they are now organised. As the provincial government, we would be seeking to explore ways in which these operators can be assisted to migrate to safe, roadworthy and legally operating public transport operators,” said Kaunda.

Daily News

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