Johannesburg - The assumption that truck owners are not liable for prosecution if their trucks are involved in accidents is incorrect, the National Prosecuting Authority has said.
At truck driver Isaac Maruding’s bail application on Monday, magistrate Samuel Hlubi said he was “saddened” by the current legal climate where the owners of trucks can’t be held liable for negligence that claims lives.
Maruding is the driver whose truck ploughed into 48 vehicles, killing three people, on the N12 East near Alberton on October 14, and Hlubi granted him R7 000 bail on Monday.
“I am saddened by the situation of truck drivers that in every accident, he is the only one to be charged. Not the owner or the company, not the one who inspected the truck before it left the company or the one who serviced it,” said Hlubi. “I am waiting for the day when there is legislation when the State can prosecute all the stakeholders in the above- mentioned.”
According to NPA spokesman Nathi Mncube, there is absolutely nothing stopping the police from prosecuting the owners of the truck that robbed three people of their lives. “It is a matter of evidence, not of law. The police must investigate and gather evidence that implicates the truck owner,” he told The Star yesterday.
TRUCK WAS NOT ROADWORTHY
Gauteng traffic police spokesman Obed Sibasa confirmed yesterday that the truck was not roadworthy at the time of the accident.
He cited the National Road Traffic Act, which clearly states that the operators or owners of a vehicle are obligated to ensure the fitness of the vehicle and its driver.
However, Sibasa said it was up to the police to prosecute with the evidence they had.
Provincial police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini told The Star that while prosecution of the owners was not outside the realm of possibility, investigators were still awaiting a forensic report detailing the roadworthiness of the truck, among other factors.
“It really depends on the forensic report,” he said.
While it’s unclear if the owners of the vehicle will be charged in the coming months, Maruding has indicated he will plead not guilty to the three culpable homicide charges against him. He claims the brakes on his vehicle failed when he tried to stop before approaching the traffic.
However, media reports suggest the driver has been charged with culpable homicide and reckless driving before.
Maruding will return to the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on November 12.
The Star