Driver, taxi owner and traffic authorities are to blame for accident
THE only people responsible for yesterday’s terrible “accident” are the driver, the owner of the taxi and traffic enforcement.
Everyone has a right to be on the road with drivers who are licensed, and vehicles that are licensed and roadworthy and not overloaded.
Parents cannot be expected to make sure that the owner of a taxi provides a driver every day who is licensed. These parents are often on unreliable/unsafe trains and taxis themselves at 6am daily, and at work when their children are delivered home.
This driver was not charged for having no licence when the taxi was stopped before, the owner of the taxi (assuming he is not the driver) was not charged for having an unlicensed driver and unroadworthy vehicle and the traffic officer did not have the taxi impounded when it was found to be unroadworthy. All were all negligent and to blame for the death of this child as well as the trauma and injuries to all the other children.
The suggestion that a teacher should stand guard and make sure the taxis aren’t overloaded at school and on leaving is not a worthy suggestion – that poor teacher would probably not make it home that night. Would you want to take on a taxi driver/owner/ association?
I travel to Somerset West all the time and the vehicles I see that are overloaded, with doors hanging on and tyres worn thin, is dreadful. I know the traffic officers are poorly resourced, but it is the responsibility of the traffic department to ensure that we are safe on our roads. This taxi could have collided with the barrier and hit another car, killing many others.
In the UK, vehicles have to pass roadworthy tests every three years. Perhaps we should introduce this, and if a vehicle is not roadworthy once, you have to have it seen to and resubmitted.
If you don’t comply within a certain period and/or you are caught twice with a vehicle that has not been through a roadworthy test, the vehicle should be impounded and a hefty fine issued.
It is time we took this seriously. The lives of 29 children were altered in a dreadful way yesterday, and they deserve better. We all need to be their voices. Please, Cape Town traffic, wake up.