US Edition‘The State Is Complicit’: Vaal Tragedy Sparks Urgent Calls to Fix South Africa’s Broken Scholar Transport System
The 22-year-old driver faces 12 counts of culpable homicide and reckless driving after a crash involving private scholar transport, where driver error causes over 80% of road crashes in South Africa.
- On Monday, a private scholar transport vehicle crashing on Droste Road in Vanderbijlpark killed 12 children, including Ofentse Vinger, 6, Phehello Motaung, 18, and Lesego Sefatsa, 7.
- Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube said more than 700,000 pupils use department-registered scholar transport while many parents arrange private transport outside departmental control.
- The 22-year-old driver was arrested after hospital discharge and faces 12 counts of culpable homicide plus reckless and negligent driving, with police investigators gathering witness statements as two other students remain in critical condition.
- Gwarube and Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane visited grieving families, while Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said memorial and funeral details will be confirmed soon.
- Grieving families and spokespeople are calling to scrap the current scholar transport system and adopt school buses, citing more than 80% of road crashes blamed on driver error and 11,418 vehicle deaths last year in South Africa.
12 Articles
12 Articles
South Africa: Families Say Scrap Scholar Transport After Crash Kills 12 Kids
Ofentse Vinger, 6, was one of 12 children who died in a crash that has sparked urgent calls for the government to provide safer school transport. The 22-year-old driver has been arrested for culpable homicide after being released from hospital, and is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
A Week In Review - La Voz Colorado
Africa Bus crash leaves 13 children dead At least 13 school students died in South Africa when a minibus they were traveling in collided with a lorry. Two other students are in critical condition. South Africa has a high rate of fatal road collisions. Last year, 11,418 people died in vehicle accidents in South Africa, which is a 6 percent lower rate than in 2024. Ghana makes cyber-crime arrest Officials in Ghana arrested nine Nigerians who a…
Mandatory Defensive Driving: Why PrDPs Need Rethinking After The Vanderbijlpark Tragedy
There is nothing professional about the Professional Driving Permit. The system is producing underqualified drivers. I say that without hesitation, and after the Vanderbijlpark scholar transport tragedy, I’m done pretending otherwise. A few years ago, I wrote about the need to make defensive driving a core requirement for professional drivers in South Africa. The reaction from many industry professionals was predictable. It will cost too much. E…
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