According to Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, MEC for Roads and Transport in Gauteng, the government will not put up with operators who endanger children’s lives, and the safety of students traveling to and from school is a non-negotiable issue. As the school year approaches, the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GDRT) has issued a decisive ultimatum to scholar transport operators across the province: comply with safety regulations or face immediate consequences. In a bid to ensure the safety of students, the department has announced that unroadworthy vehicles and those lacking valid operating permits will be promptly impounded.The schools reopen 14 January.
In a bid to ensure the safety of students, the department has announced that unroadworthy vehicles and those lacking valid operating permits will be promptly impounded. Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, MEC for Roads and Transport, stated that the safety of students travelling to and from school is non-negotiable, and the government will not tolerate operators who put children’s lives in danger. “For the next nine months, millions of children will depend on drivers to get them to school safely.
Every time a child gets into a vehicle or walks near a road, their life is in someone else’s hands. We will not allow unroadworthy vehicles or unlicensed operators to transport our children,” said MEC Diale-Tlabela. Starting January 14, intensive scholar transport inspections will be conducted at schools, along transportation routes, and during peak travel times.
[paywall]
Drivers without valid licences will be arrested, and vehicles found to be unroadworthy or operating without the necessary permits will be immediately seized. Additionally, the MEC urged parents to actively participate in their children’s safety by declining to pay for risky transportation. “Parents have power.
Your money gives you a voice. Don’t pay for transport in a vehicle that doesn’t have proper seating for every child, working seatbelts, or is visibly unroadworthy. Report unsafe vehicles to us,” she said. Diale-Tlabela further appealed to all motorists to exercise extra caution near schools and scholar transport vehicles.
[/paywall]
