Deputy minister goes after taxi industry
The deputy transport minister says the driver will be fined R500 if a passenger is found without a safety belt on.
The Department of Transport is to fine minibus taxi drivers for passengers not buckled up, the deputy minister has insisted.
Sindisiwe Chikunga was speaking to taxi drivers and owners at the Bosman taxi rank on Wednesday.
Chikunga and SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) president Philip Tooibosch were on a road safety campaign trail in Pretoria to highlight the need for buckling up in public transport.
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Chikunga said the driver would be fined R500 if a passenger was found without a safety belt.
“We are very serious about this and we will go to the extent of impounding taxis if this simple instruction is not obeyed.
She said road carnage during Easter could have been avoided had commuters put their safety belts on.
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Last year, more than 330 people died over the Easter weekend.
Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi said recently at the release of the Easter weekend fatalities that most of the fatalities happened in residential areas, between midnight and 05:00.
The minister lamented the increase in the number of vehicles on the road but reiterated that human error remained the causal factor of most crashes.
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Maswanganyi said statistics indicated that 50 percent of the people who died were pedestrians, followed by passengers at 24 percent and drivers at 19 percent.
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