The Tshwane Metro Police Department has impounded a minibus taxi that was transporting 29 school children on the R80 Mabopane Highway, exceeding its legal carrying capacity by a significant margin.
Traffic officers intercepted the vehicle at Theo Martins poort on Wednesday morning during routine patrols. The driver was operating without the required licences, and the taxi was found to be unroadworthy upon inspection.
The incident comes barely two months after 14 children were killed in January when a minibus taxi driver drove negligently into the oncoming traffic lane, colliding head-on with a truck. The driver has been charged with 14 counts of murder.
The latest interception was made possible through the department’s morning patrol operations, which form part of a broader crackdown on scholar transport violations. In a separate operation in Pretoria East, regional policing members targeted operators transporting school children in overloaded and unroadworthy vehicles.
The driver of the intercepted taxi faces charges of operating an overloaded vehicle, driving without proper documentation, and using an unroadworthy vehicle for public transport.
The minibus taxi industry has come under scrutiny for persistently overloading vehicles with young passengers and driving negligently, placing children’s lives at risk on a daily basis. School transport operators are required to hold specific permits and licences, and their vehicles must meet strict roadworthiness standards.
The TMPD said it remains committed to removing operators who jeopardise the safety of commuters from the roads. The department has pledged to continue enforcement operations to ensure the safety of all road users in the City of Tshwane.
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