What surprises me is that the traffic officials were surprised by the condition of the truck and that it had passed a roadworthiness inspection! Clearly they haven't been on the same roads as I have and seen some of the vehicles that I have seen! Some of the taxis are held together with rope and wire. It's quite unbelievable!
Unroadworthy truck shocks traffic officials
December 29 2006 at 11:40AM
By Thamsanqa Ngubane
Traffic officials are investigating how a truck with several defects that they impounded on Thursday had passed a roadworthy inspection two months ago. Road Traffic Inspectorate officials in Pinetown impounded the truck after spotting it during their daily inspections. "We were following the truck on the N3 when we noticed that there was something wrong," said Pinetown Provincial Inspector Brandon Thring. He said the truck was suspended and taken off the road immediately because there were cracks on the trailer's chassis, the tyres were worn and the brakes and other parts were also not functioning properly.
The truck, which was overloaded by two tons, was transporting meat products from Durban to a supermarket in Pinetown when it was stopped.
Officials were shocked when they discovered that the truck had passed a roadworthiness test in October. "It is strange to see that it had gone on a test two months ago if it is in this poor condition," said Thring. "If people continue taking chances (operating and driving unroadworthy vehicles) they must know that we are not on a holiday, we are on the road enforcing the law, and if they don't want to comply their vehicles will be taken off the road," he said.
AA Test & Drive Operations Director Greg Tourell said South Africa was lagging behind other countries in terms of vehicle testing and roadworthy approval. "Vehicle safety is not getting the attention it deserves. In South Africa roadworthy certificates are being handed out to total wrecks," he said.
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