President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered his condolences to the families who lost loved ones in a bus crash on the R21 highway, near the OR Tambo International Airport, in Gauteng.
"The President offers his condolences to the bereaved families and wishes survivors of the incident a speedy and full recovery,” the Presidency said in a statement.
As of today, the death toll from the bus crash has risen to 16. Initially, 12 passengers were declared dead at the scene, with four additional fatalities occurring in the hospital.
According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), the crash involved a passenger bus owned by the City of Ekurhuleni and a light motor vehicle (LMV). The bus was carrying passengers from Katlehong to Pomona.
RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said preliminary reports suggest that both vehicles were travelling in the third lane (from the right) of the R21.
"It is alleged that the LMV suddenly applied brakes after missing the off-ramp exit lane.
"In an attempt to avoid a collision, the bus driver also braked and swerved, resulting in the bus losing control, rotating clockwise, overturning, and coming to a rest in the off-ramp lane, facing south," Zwane said.
The injured were transported to OR Tambo, Tembisa and Edenvale hospitals.
The President said the country must reflect on driver behaviour.
“Incidents such as these impact on people’s ability to earn a living; they impact on our health and emergency services; they drive up insurance and result in expensive vehicle repairs, and they affect business who lose personnel in this process.
“As we reflect on the lives that have been lost, we must also reflect on the responsibility and conduct of everyone who gets in behind the wheel of a vehicle, big and small, in our country,” said the President.
He further added that “when we ask how safe our roads are, we actually need to ask how safe we are as drivers and pedestrians. The biggest factor in crashes is human error, not law enforcement or road conditions.”
“Drivers must ensure vehicles are roadworthy and must obey the rules of the road. They are there to keep us safe. Where drivers ignore these rules, they stand a chance of losing their lives or being critically injured. And where they survive, they will end up in our courts and correctional centres,” the President said.
Call for caution
Meanwhile, the Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy and her Deputy Mkhuleko Hlengwa have joined the President in expressing their condolences to the families and loved ones of those who perished in Tuesday’s crash.
The Minister and Deputy Minister expressed deep concern over the spate of recent road crashes involving passenger busses where lives were lost.
The Minister and Deputy Minister have called for heightened caution and vigilance from all motorists and road users to ensure they stay safe on the roads at all times.
They also wished the injured a speedy recovery.
In his statement, President Ramaphosa said his thoughts were also with the families of at least nine bus passengers who lost their lives in an incident in KwaZulu-Natal at this past weekend, in which 39 people were injured as well.
“While the causes of these recent incidents are still under investigation, we are reminded that tragedies such as these leave more than physical scars, as they cause trauma that affects family relationships and the lives of survivors,” he said.
The accident occurred on Sunday afternoon when a bus, transporting members of the Twelve Apostles Church in Trinity from Richards Bay to Shakaskraal, near KwaDukuza, experienced a tyre burst.
READ | Condolences following N2 bus crash
The incident caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
Additionally, Minister Creecy has also expressed her concern at the spate of bus accidents.
“The Minister is extremely concerned that this is the third serious bus accident in the past week. Accordingly, she has instructed the RTMC to convene a meeting with all bus operators within the next week to discuss ways to enhance passenger safety in the bus industry,” said the department.
READ | RTMC to convene bus stakeholder engagement
-SAnews.gov.za
