On Thursday Gauteng provincial transport minister Khabisi Mosunkutu announced further measures by his department to bring traffic and road-safety offenders to book.
At a media briefing in Johannesburg he said six trucking companies, ”notorious” for violating the Road Traffic Act, have been summoned to appear before investigators.
If the companies can not explain their failure to carry out their duties properly, their operating licences can be withdrawn for a maximum of 12 months.
Mosunkutu said this is a measure to ensure that companies, which often ”hide behind the drivers of their vehicles”, can not continue to flout the road safety rules.
The companies, some of which operate nationally, are Coaltrans, Whelson Transport, OJ Carriers, ITC Transport, ITC and Amalgamated Bulk. Other offending companies will also be investigated.
Mosunkutu said these companies not only endanger the safety of innocent people by operating unroadworthy vehicles, but also ”vandalise” South African roads by overloading their trucks.
A single truck, overloaded by 37 tons, can do R600 000-worth of damage to a road, he said, and in Gauteng about R150-million per annum is directly traceable to overloaded vehicles.
Mosunkutu said some of the companies have been involved in the recent spate of accidents on South African roads.
”Our roads are fast getting drenched in tears and blood, often of innocent road users,” he said.
”I am confident that the measures we are putting in place will greatly assist in eliminating these problems.
Mosunkutu reported on some of the results of Operation Juggernaut, a road safety campaign that was initiated on November 7.
Between November 7 and November 18:
22 957 vehicles had been booked for speeding;
818 vehicles were caught with worn-out tires;
312 vehicles had faulty brakes or steering wheels, of which 160 were heavy goods vehicles; and
398 trucks were found to be overloaded.
Of the 1 719 vehicles tested during this time, 464 trucks, 52 buses and 242 taxis failed the roadworthy test.
”The velvet gloves are off … our tough measures are bearing fruit,” he said.
Mosunkutu also announced that to deal with fraud and corruption at driver testing centres the department would be stopping all bookings from November 24 and would establish a new system of booking tests. — Sapa