Barely a week into SA’s new school year, the country has been jolted by a tragedy that should shame authorities into action. Yesterday, 13 children on their way to school died in a horrific scholar transport crash in Vanderbijlpark. Their lives were cut short not by fate, but by human failure — failure behind the wheel and failure of the state to enforce basic road safety where it matters most.
Preliminary investigations point to human error as the cause of the crash. Early evidence suggests the scholar transporter attempted a multi-vehicle overtaking manoeuvre during the morning peak rush hour, colliding with a truck. This incident once again exposes the need for a functional public transport system in SA.
Scholar transport crashes recur with grim regularity, leaving devastated families and traumatised communities in their wake. Yet, each time, the response from authorities is depressingly predictable: condolences, platitudes and renewed calls for drivers to “obey the rules of the road”. These statements ring hollow in a country where many drivers feel emboldened to flout the law because enforcement is weak, inconsistent or altogether absent.
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Decisive action must be taken to ensure that no parent ever again has to bury a child who was simply trying to get to school. The death of children on their way to school should never be normalised. It should never be dismissed as an unavoidable consequence of road travel.
When children die in such numbers, it is not merely an accident; it is negligence. Negligence by drivers who gamble with lives and by authorities who fail to create a credible deterrent against reckless behaviour. The government must urgently change its posture.
The visible and sustained presence of traffic police along routes commonly used by scholar transporters should be the rule, not the exception. Regular stop-and-search operations to verify driver permits, vehicle roadworthiness and compliance with safety standards must become routine. Beyond enforcement, there is a deeper societal question that cannot be ignored.
It cannot be right that so many children are forced to travel long distances outside their communities simply to access education. A system that normalises long, risky commutes for young learners is itself part of the problem. Wherever possible, children should attend schools closer to home, reducing reliance on hazardous transport and restoring a sense of safety and community.
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