The Toyota Venture was found to be unsafe for children to travel in by the Metro police and Midrand Learner Transport Association during a routine operation at the school.
The vehicle is owned by a member of Ratanang Transport Association. The owner allegedly ignored requests by the association to take the vehicle off the road.
“The police have every right to impound this vehicle. We have spoken with the owner before. In the condition that it is in, [it would be dangerous to have it on the road],” said Ernest Mazibuko, secretary of the association.
He said the owner further faces a disciplinary hearing from the association where membership might be revoked.
“From a legal perspective, the driver will either receive a ticket or he will be arrested,” said officer Andrew Mokgoera of the Metro police.
“This car was overloaded, the driver does not have a Professional Driving Permit [licence needed to transport passengers on South African roads] and the car does not have a registration plate,” he said.
Members of the Midrand Learner Transport Association, who were on site checking for various faults, said they found that the transportation used for pupils was problematic.
According to the association, bakkies were also being used to transport children, although some were in a good condition, they were inappropriate for transporting human beings.
“These problems aren’t unique to this school. We received a complaint about overloading but when we got here, there were a number of other problems,” said Sifiso Sigudla, a member of the association.
Mokgoera confirmed that the driver of the Venture was escorted by Metro police from the drop-off zone of the school to the Midrand Fire Station for safekeeping of the vehicle.
