#SaveKidsLives through safe learner transport

The road safety focus for October is #SaveKidsLives.

Provincial traffic officers of the Department of Transport and Public Works have clamped down on many dodgy learner transport vehicles in the Western Cape this year. Our constant vigilance helps to prevent disasters like the 2011 Rheenendal bus crash.

The Department is calling on parents and caregivers to join hands with us in our efforts to keep school children safe.

Operators transporting learners are required to comply with the provisions of the National Land Transport Act, including being in possession of a valid operating licence. Their vehicles must be roadworthy, and they must have all the necessary permits to transport learners.

The Department’s traffic officers regularly respond to complaints by carrying out learner transport blitzes in high-risk regions such as Cape Winelands, Breede Valley, and Eden.

Since the start of the year, traffic officers visited 103 schools to enforce the law on learner transport.

They issued fines totalling R323 050 for mechanical problems and a lack of necessary documentation. A total of 21 transport vehicles were impounded in the Western Cape for being unlicensed and/ or unroadworthy.

Breakdown of learner transport blitzes, January to September 2016

Parents and caregivers should take every practical step to check that private operators transporting their children always use safe, roadworthy and reliable vehicles, and that drivers have legal authorisation to transport learners. 

The Department is committed to #SaveKidsLives. It will continue to collaborate with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), local traffic authorities and road safety agencies to help ensure road safety in and around schools.