Pretoria – Motorists who will be travelling long distances for the Woman’s Day long weekend must check their car tyres and the roadworthiness of their vehicles before heading to their holiday destinations, says the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
“Tyre bursts, faulty brakes and passenger overloading are emerging as leading vehicle contributory factors in all fatal crashes investigated by the corporation. Tyre bursts account for 63.57% of fatal crashes, followed by faulty brakes at 9.29 percent and passenger overloading at 5.7 percent,” said the corporation on Friday.
Faulty brakes are suspected to have played a role in a crash in which 22 school children were injured in Ngwavuma in KwaZulu-Natal on Thursday when a bakkie driver lost control and overturned on a gravel near KwaJona reserve.
The driver indicated that the vehicle’s braking system failed before he lost control.
No one was killed in the accident and injured children were rushed to a nearby hospital.
The RTMC warned that criminal charges will be laid against motorists should they be found to have caused a crash in which a person died.
“Charges of culpable homicide will be brought against the suspected driver and they may serve time in jail,” it said.
An Eastern Cape taxi driver was last week sentenced to six years imprisonment, with two years suspended, following a crash in which his vehicle overturned killing five people and causing injury to 13 others.
“This shows that the courts are not prepared to accept excuses when it comes to deaths on the roads.
“All motorists are under obligation to ensure that their vehicles are in a roadworthy condition and do not pose a danger to other road users before entering the road. The driver must also ensure that all passengers buckle up and children must be secured in child restraint seats.” – SAnews.gov.za
