Editorial: Children’s lives are in our hands

We will have to move away from building trust being a reactionary nation if we are to stop the road carnage, like that which claimed the lives of 11 children and their school transport driver in Carletonville last week.

The vehicle in which they were travelling overturned and caught fire after being hit by a bakkie from behind.

The driver of the bakkie remains under police guard in hospital and will be charged as soon as he is discharged.

As has been the case in the past following these kind of tragedies, politicians and activists have been making all the right utterances regarding scholar transport. However, this debate should be ongoing and not just erupt in the wake of yet another tragedy.

The responsibility of ensuring that children reach school and home safely is the tripartite function of government, service providers and parents.

While government should provide safe and reliable transport, parents have a duty to ensure that their “bundles of joy” travel to school comfortably.

The drivers have to constantly be mindful of the fact that the safety of the young lives in their vehicle are in their hands. The driver who hit the school transport sadly is just another reminder of life on our roads.

Unfortunately, some parents are not bothered for as long as their children reach school every morning and home at the end of the day.

Parents could take turns to monitor these vehicles, and maybe the “transport uncles” would conduct themselves better if they knew they were being watched.

Some of the vehicles that transport children to school are not roadworthy nor marked. Parents do not know who the operators account to, yet they are willing to part with money every month for this person.

We join the rest of the country in mourning for the lost lives, and pray that their souls will rest in peace.

May their death mark the start of a national debate on school transport, and may they not be forgotten.

Cape Times