Bus operators had a valid licence
2013-03-19 14:28
Cape Town – A preliminary
investigation into the bus that crashed on the Hex River Valley Pass on Friday –
claiming the lives of 24 people - has shown that the company had a valid
operating licence.
Transport and Public Works MEC Robin Carlisle had said
the initial investigation had flagged certification issues, after they queried the operating licence, driver’s licence, the vehicle’s roadworthiness
and the safety history of the company.
But on Monday Carlisle admitted that upon close
inspection the company’s operating licence was valid.
Previously, it had been believed by authorities that the
licence had been issued on 25 December -
a day which the Provincial Regulatory Entity’s office was closed - but this
turned out to be a clerical error.
Carlisle did confirm, however, that the bus’s roadworthy
certificate had expired two weeks prior to the crash.
Atlantic Charters and Tours did not dispute this fact,
but they said the bus had undergone stringent testing at the Joe Qgabi Bus
Interchange at Philippi.
“In December 2012, during the festive season, it was
compulsory for every vehicle to be roadworthy and inspected thoroughly every
day before departure. This particular bus in question went through full
roadworthy testing about every third day during the [festive season],” the
bus company’s spokesperson Aneeqah Salie told the Cape Argus.
She added that on the day of the crash, just four hours
before the accident, the bus was stopped in Beaufort West by traffic officials
and taken to the provincial testing station.
However, Carlisle said the tests conducted by the
provincial traffic police in no way constituted the requirements for a road
certificate.
“Nor does it relieve the obligation to have a roadworthy
certificate.”
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, with
brake failure suspected as a possible cause.
Carlisle warned that if mechanical failure was behind the
incident, the lack of a roadworthy certificate could have serious consequences.
