AFTER two recent tragedies which cost the lives of eighteen farm workers and left scores injured, the Department of Agriculture plans to review the means by which farm workers are transported.
These road accidents which took place in Piketberg and De Doorns occurred hauntingly close to the first anniversary of the Faure train disaster last year, where 19 farm workers from Klapmuts were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was struck by a train.
With the latest accident, a call by officials has been made to set up an action plan to determine safe means of transport for farm workers.
Amongst the options which are being looked at, are bus and taxi services which may possibly be subsidised by the state.
A provincial traffic officer has said that the problem of such accidents is not a matter of the means of transport, but is due to the lack of general law enforcement on the roads.
”There are far too few traffic officials available and far too many unroadworthy vehicles in use on the roads. Speeding and reckless driving is also a huge problem. There are simply not enough officers to patrol our roads.
“Often large amounts of people are transported without the driver being qualified to do this. They are also not in possession of a professional drivers permit (PDP), and this includes taxi drivers.
“It is required that a school teacher, for example, who transports children, must have a PDP. Taxi drivers who daily transport large amounts of people do not have this specialised licence.”
He went on to say that South Africa has one of the highest road accident death tolls in the world and without adequate law enforcement constantly on the roads checking the state of vehicles and drivers, this will continue to be the situatiohn.
“About 90% of taxis in Paarl do not even have the basic requirements for transporting people. One of these regulations is the presence of yellow reflective strips on the sides and back of the vehicles.
“How many thousands of people more must lose their lives until visible and active policing takes place on our roads?”
* Meanwhile, the trust fund which was set up by the Ministry of Agriculture for the victims and family members of the Faure train disaster, is lying dormant. More than a million rand has been accumulated, but many victims have yet to see a single cent of this.
