Faulty brakes, no lights, missing seatbelts: school transport vehicles impounded in Joburg

A few days after the reopening of schools across the country, the MMC for safety in Johannesburg, Michael Sun, has urged parents to choose scholar transport wisely and to not compromise the safety of pupils. 

The request follows the discovery of four noncompliant vehicles which were  transporting children around Florida on Thursday morning. The vehicles were taken off the road.

"We can’t risk a potential catastrophe. Some of these vehicles are totally [road] unworthy and are accidents waiting to happen," he told TimesLIVE.  

One of the vehicles had failed brakes, few seat belts, shallow tyres, nonfunctional headlights and wiper blades, with a licence that expired two years ago.  The other three vehicles had similar issues, said Sun.

"This morning it was raining. Imagine what would have happened if the driver had lost control? We are urging parents to put a lot of care into choosing a transport operator," he said. 

Sun said the inspection was part of an ongoing campaign which was started in 2018 and focused on ensuring not only scholar safety, but pedestrian safety as well.

"We are still seeing a lot of noncompliant vehicles and are planning on visiting more places to educate and raise awareness about road safety," he added.  

Following the inspection, Sun said he had been inundated by several requests to visit other places, which he and officials will do.