National Scholar Transport Policy still not finalised after five years

South Africa experiences some of the worst road fatalities in the world with about 40 people reportedly dying on our roads daily. This is usually associated with a number of factors, including but not limited to, drunken driving, speeding, reckless overtaking, and driver fatigue from long and uninterrupted driving, failure to use seatbelts and other restraints especially for children, unroadworthy vehicles and unlicensed and illegally licensed drivers. The Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters says “pedestrians account for about 45% of road fatalities and this reality encourages all South Africans to work together on road safety”.

Briefing Parliament’s Transport Portfolio Committee, Peters says “scholarly transport is a huge problem especially in rural areas, as children are often transported with the most unroadworthy vehicles and the Department is also concerned about how the scholar transport operators access the contract to transport learners”.

Advocate Makhosini Msibi, CEO of Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), also added that “the age group of 0-14 (54%) is hugely affected by road fatalities in South Africa, and these are not drivers but children and passengers”.

Democratic Alliance MP Ian Ollis expressed concern, saying, “it is sad that the Department of Transport has not yet implemented the National Scholar Transport Policy, which has been in development for over five years”. Furthermore, he emphasised that there is a need to accelerate the finalisation of the National Scholar Transport Policy as the age group of 0-14 is hugely affected by road fatalities and this can potentially affect the productivity of the South African economy.

Peters says “the Department is currently working together with the Department of Education in order to ensure that the scholar transport operators are motivated and given awards such as being the scholar transport driver of the year. The Department also needs to ensure that the scholar transport drivers are properly trained, and given modern technology to monitor the speed and roadworthiness of their vehicles”.

“The delays in the implementation of the National Scholar Transport Policy mean that learners in rural areas and townships will continue to be transported with the most unroadworthy vehicles, exposing them to fatal road accidents and interruption of their ability to learn and progress through the education system. The Department of Transport, therefore, needs to prioritise both the education and safety of our children”, says Ollis.