Road hazard

LAST week’s arrest of corrupt licensing officers, who have been passing learner drivers without testing them, should be celebrated.

In a country where people simply purchase driving licences and get behind the wheel without any training, the City of Joburg’s continued purge of corrupt licensing officers will send a strong message to those who allow unfit drivers on our roads for a small fee.

Seventy-two of the officials have been suspended while 15 have been arrested. Our courts should mete out punishments that will send a strong message to other greedy officials. The activities have to be stopped because these are the drivers who disregard road rules and undoubtedly add to the high number of people killed on our roads annually.

Just this past festive season, 1 714 lives were lost in road crashes, and 82% of those were due to human error, according to Transport Minister Dipuo Peters.