‘Child falls out of school taxi’
MIDRAND - After reports that a child fell out of a taxi picking up pre-schoolers in Allandale on 19 February, Midrand Reporter contacted the family and the school, however both refused to comment.
A resident who wants to remain anonymous said they witnessed the whole incident and took pictures which Midrand Reporter has seen. The resident said,”Most of the school buses seem OK but many that are privately owned seem like death on wheels. Some drivers do not care that a child is standing while the taxi is moving, and many of these school transport vehicles do not have seatbelts.”
In spite of parents refusing to comment, Midrand Reporter would like to make parents aware that there was a need to carefully consider if the private taxi seems roadworthy before allowing it to transport their children to school.
Metro police spokesperson Edna Mamonyane said parents are putting their child’s life at risk to get affordable transport.
“Many private school taxis speed, yet the cars do not even appear roadworthy. A vehicle is roadworthy if it passes the vehicle testing station’s test and parts like brakes, wipers, windscreen, mirrors, indicators and others have no problems.” Mamonyane said.
“If the police take away a disc of a car that is unroadworthy, the car has to be re-tested at a vehicle testing station before being awarded a new disc.”
