Gauteng motorists have been warned to ensure their vehicles are roadworthy and operating within the ambit of the law as the Gauteng Transport Inspectorate (GTI) intensifies its enforcement drive.
Gauteng MEC for roads and transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela said that between September 22 and 28, the GTI removed 62 unroadworthy minibus taxis from the province’s roads during an operation aimed at restoring order and improving commuter safety.
The crackdown also saw officers issuing a total of 1,104 traffic infringement notices. Of these 469 were manual notices while 635 were issued through the e-force electronic system.
Violations ranged from serious vehicle defects, such as faulty brakes and lights, to operators driving unlicensed vehicles, some with missing documentation.
In addition to the discontinuations, enforcement officers found a disturbing level of illegal operations, while 52 minibus taxi drivers were caught operating without valid driving licences and 92 were found driving without any form of driving licence.
“These violations pose extreme danger to all road users. Unroadworthy vehicles and unlicensed drivers are nothing less than potential death traps, and they have no place on our roads. We will not tolerate such blatant disregard for the law,” Diale-Tlabela said on Thursday.
These weekly operations form part of a long-term strategy to combat lawlessness, enhance road safety and strengthen regulatory compliance within the public transport sector.
The MEC emphasised that the provincial government had adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards non-compliance in the public transport sector.
She cautioned that operators who put profit before the lives of commuters would face uncompromising enforcement, including impoundment of their vehicles.
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