Vaal crash driver had prior reckless driving complaints, Gauteng Education Transport Services confirms
Gauteng Education Transport Services has confirmed that it previously heard driver that killed 14 Vaal pupils was a reckless driver.
Image: IOL Graphics
The Gauteng Education Transport Services (GETS) has confirmed that Ayanda Dludla, the 22-year-old scholar transport driver accused of killing 14 pupils in Vanderbijlpark, was operating a minibus under the association and that it had previously received complaints about his alleged reckless driving.
GETS chairperson Matthews Mokhachane made the revelations outside the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, where Dludla made his first court appearance.
Dludla faces 14 counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder following Monday’s crash involving a scholar transport vehicle and a truck.
He has abandoned his bail application and is expected to return to court on 5 March.
Mokhachane said the association would not interfere with the legal process.
“We don’t stand for anything. We don’t defend. We are saying let the law take its course,” he said.
“If the person in charge is found guilty, we allow the Constitution to take its course. As law-abiding citizens, we stand by the safety of our kids.”
He said GETS condemned reckless driving and poor conduct by drivers.
“These things never happened before, but nowadays we find drivers doing all sorts of shenanigans,” Mokhachane said.
He confirmed that Dludla was driving a minibus linked to the association but stressed that the driver himself was not a member.
“Ayanda was driving a vehicle that belongs to one of our associations, but he is not a member. His employer is the member,” Mokhachane said.
Accused driver Ayanda Dludla makes his first court appearance after the fatal school transport accident.
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
“Being employed does not automatically make you a member of the organisation.”
Dludla appeared on GETS records as a driver, he said, but not as a registered member.
Mokhachane also confirmed reports that Dludla’s father holds a senior position within the organisation.
“He is not the chairperson of GETS,” he said. “He is the deputy chairperson at regional level in the Sedibeng region.”
Families of the victims have criticised the association for failing to visit them after the crash to offer condolences.
However, Mokhachane confirmed GETS members had visited affected families on Wednesday, including those whose children remain in intensive care.
“It was a traumatic and stressful situation after the accident,” he said.
“But once we gathered our thoughts, we dispatched members to visit different families.”
Authorities have confirmed that the PDP for the minibus driven by Dludla expired in November last year.
However, Mokhachane claimed the association was unaware of this.
“I was not aware,” he said. “Schools had just opened and we were still planning meetings to vet drivers and finalise documentation.”
He acknowledged that he had heard reports of Dludla being reprimanded in the past for reckless driving.
“Yes, I’ve heard that he was reprimanded before,” Mokhachane said.
“But I can neither confirm nor deny that he was driving recklessly before this accident because I had not personally observed him.”
He also raised concerns about overloading in the scholar transport industry, describing it as a complex issue.
“We don’t encourage overloading, but our industry is very complex,” he said, calling on transport authorities to engage with operators to address challenges facing the sector.
Fourteen school pupils were killed when the scholar transport vehicle they were travelling in crashed into a truck in Vanderbijlpark in the Vaal, Gauteng on Monday.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
Mokhachane said GETS represents more than 10,000 private scholar transport operators across Gauteng.
He said the association would introduce stricter controls following the crash.
“This accident is an eye-opener,” he said. “We need strong policies and strict measures to clamp down on reckless driving and overloading.”
The crash claimed the lives of 14 learners and left several others injured.
Three pupils remain in hospital.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo previously said Dludla was arrested after being discharged from hospital, where he was treated for injuries sustained in the crash.
The truck driver was not injured, while a passenger in the truck remains under medical care.
Police said investigations into the circumstances surrounding the collision are ongoing.
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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