Johannesburg - The driver sighed in defeat and buried his face in his folded arms, which he placed on his steering wheel.
On Tuesday morning, Johannesburg metro police officers had pulled him over and insisted he come to the Sandton licensing and testing centre to determine his vehicle’s roadworthiness.
Rather than just the usual mechanics examining his dilapidated truck, he found Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau doing it.
The licence disc incorrectly identified the truck as a station wagon, and after a mechanic described the truck as a “moving coffin”, it was impounded immediately - along with 23 other vehicles.
This was all part of the Ke Molao Easter Road Safety Drive. As part of the campaign, roadworthiness has become the focal point in diminishing the Easter weekend death toll.
In the coming days, there will be roving roadblocks where officers will stop and check vehicles’ roadworthiness, licences and professional driving permits for all public vehicles - including buses and taxis.
Johannesburg metro police department spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said: “There will be more than 20 roadblocks on all exit routes from the city on to the N1 and M2. We will also have officers patrolling all the major highways. The biggest number of vehicles are expected to be leaving Johannesburg on Thursday and Friday.”
The mayor said the reason he had become personally involved in the campaign was because vehicle and driver fitness had been identified as a key problem and contributor to road fatalities, especially those involving public transport.
Tau was particularly shocked at a minibus taxi inspected at the centre, which was found to have no braking system. Lack of maintenance could put lives at risk, he said.
“During Easter, it’s more about public transportation and the number of people who use public transport to travel to different parts of the country.
“It doesn’t mean you don’t have people drinking and driving, but the vast majority of problems that you find during this time of the year pertain to vehicle readiness or lack thereof,” he said.
Johannesburg’s mayoral committee member for public safety Sello Lemao said people needed to comply with the laws leading up to Easter if they wanted to prevent the usual road carnage.
He added that the response to such campaigns from the public was generally positive.
The Star