As authorities continue to fight for the safety of scholar transport, one driver was arrested for drunk driving in Mitchells Plain on Thursday.
The driver was arrested after he was spotted by traffic cops who were out on patrol. In addition to his arrest, they impounded his vehicle.
The drunk driver’s arrest took place as the Western Cape Provincial Traffic Officers and the Provincial Regulatory Entity (PRE), alongside the City officials, were busy conducting scholar transport enforcement operations in the area.
The operations were in Rocklands and Tafelsig where operating licences, vehicle and driver fitness were conducted.
Western Cape MEC of Mobility, Ricardo Mackenzie, says the roadblocks are part of their ongoing operation to check scholar transport.
He says: “Our aim is to make it safe for children to get to school, this is why we have operations like this.”
According to Mckenzie, authorities are on a mission to prevent fatal incidents involving school children such as the incident in May last year where five school children were killed following an horrific accident on AZ Berman Drive.
The driver of a Toyota Hilux, carrying six learners, lost control of his vehicle causing the canopy to shatter, with five dying on impact.
He says: “We are trying to prevent incidents and crashes like what happened last year with the horrible accident in Mitchells Plain.”
During the operation near two schools, officers impounded 19 vehicles.
Scholars were removed from overloaded vehicles while guilty drivers were assisted with their operating licence professional driving permit (PrDP) issues.
Meanwhile, the alleged drunk driver was detained at Mitchells Plain SAPS for transporting 23 learners between the ages of 10 and 15 while being under the influence.
Mayco member for safety and security, JP Smith, has further urged parents to not make use of unsafe scholar transport, saying: “Don’t put your children in a vehicle that is overloaded because it is likely that they are taking other chances... It’s not worth your child’s safety.”