Bus driver to appear in court
2008-12-17 14:49
Durban ? The driver of the South African Roadlink bus which crashed on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast on Tuesday morning, claiming the lives of 11 people, is to face 11 counts of culpable homicide.
Police spokesperson Superintendent Zandra Wiid said the bus driver was expected to appear in Turton Court near Hibberdene later on Wednesday.
She said those who died in the accident included: Jerimiah Buthelezi, his wife Thabelikile Buthelezi and their children Malusi Buthelezi, Njabilo Buthelezi, Thabiso Buthelezi, Siabongo Buthelezi.
The Buthelezi family had been in the Toyota Camry with which the bus collided when it apparently overtook another vehicle.
The occupants of the bus who died were: Komrad Brookes, Steven Brookes, 6, Nonkululo Talatala, Mr LA Ndebele and a woman, whose details have yet to be released.
Licence withdrawn
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal Transport MEC Bheki Cele announced that the permit to operate had been withdrawn, pending the outcome of an investigation into the crash.
"We withdraw all concurrencies granted to SA Roadlink to operate in this province pending finalisation of investigation. They stop operating here come Friday midnight."
SA Roadlink risk manager Herman Steyn said the first that the operator had heard of its licence being suspended was through the media.
He said the company had not been informed by the KwaZulu-Natal Transport Department and that the company would comment once it had been in direct contact with the department.
Fibreglass
It emerged during a briefing by Hibiscus Coast Protection Services head Victor Chetty that a great portion of the body of the bus was made of fibreglass and did not have any reinforcing such as roll bars.
"We will have to raise our concerns with SABS and the (National) Department of Transport. Maybe, like the taxi industry, the time has come to recap buses," he said.
Cele said that while the provincial department could deal with the operational aspects of public transport, it would have to consult with the national transport department and South African Bureau of Standards to address the quality and sturdiness of the buses being imported.
He said all public transport vehicles - taxis, minibus taxis and buses - caught speeding, overloading and unroadworthy would be confiscated and impounded.
"We won't just issue a ticket, we will arrest the driver and impound the vehicles," he said.
Unroadworthy buses
At the press conference he announced that an SA Roadlink bus previously declared unroadworthy, was stopped on the N3 near Estcourt in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Wednesday morning.
He said it had not been re-certified to operate on the province's roads.
SA Roadlink has a history of accidents in the province and several of its buses have been declared unroadworthy by provincial authorities in the past two years.
On Christmas Eve in 2006 an SA Roadlink bus crashed into the pillar of a bridge, resulting in the death of 12 people.
The Automobile Association's head of public affairs Rob Handfield-Jones said: "The AA has long been critical of the state of roadworthiness of long-distance passenger coaches, not to mention the driving standards of bus drivers and the need for driving hours and fatigue to be addressed."
He said the AA had raised the issue of bus safety at parliament's transport portfolio committee earlier in the year.
"The fatality risk for bus passengers rose by more than 30% between 2005 and 2006 alone, and we feel that strong steps by the government are needed to ensure that bus operators provide passengers with the safe, reliable transport service for which they pay.
"We applaud the swift action by the MEC in light of Tuesday's KZN crash involving an SA Roadlink bus. We hope that his colleagues in other provinces will take similar steps and that bus operators will take note of this development," he said.
- SAPA