Lawlessness is putting children’s lives at risk

Date: 02 October 2016 By: Isabel Venter

Young children’s lives are in danger in Louis Trichardt as a result of some lawless motorists' actions.

One local school, Saryna Kiddi Care, approached the Zoutpansberger last week with this crisis that they are facing.  

Parents of the school, said owner Mrs Riana Claassens, have been relying on taxis to transport their children to school, but even though the school has gone beyond the call of duty to ensure these children’s safety, tragedy struck on Monday, 19 September.

A little four-year-old girl, Kwazi Nyathela, was seriously injured while disembarking from a taxi in front of the school. While crossing the street, she was knocked down by another vehicle that apparently did not yield at the stop sign in Rissik Street.

Most of her injuries were to her head. She was later taken to the Polokwane Hospital for further medical treatment and brain scans. Claassens confirmed that Kwazi’s scans had come back clean and that she was still recuperating at home.

“It’s like our school has branched out and that we are now also in the business of training taxi drivers as well,” remarked Claassens.

Long before Kwazi’s accident, explained Claassens, she warned parents to be very careful and rather to drop off and fetch their children in person. There are, however, parents who still have to rely on taxis. Claassens therefore implemented a log system at the school to ensure that she would be certain at all times who would be responsible for fetching her pupils. “It has happened many times in the past that children from other schools are dropped off here and then we have to phone around to find out where the child needs to go,” said Claassens.

As a further safety measure, Claassens also instructed taxi drivers not to park across the street from the school, but in front of the school and log into the system that the child has been dropped off. Taxi drivers who refused and went on to drive around with the children for hours before dropping them off at their homes were blacklisted and the parents were asked to hire a different taxi driver.   

These precautions have worked well in the past, until last week with Kwazi’s accident. “This situation cannot be left unchecked,” said Claassens. “The authorities need to step in and take steps against the culprits … or do we have to wait for a tragic accident before we will see anything being done?” asked Claassens.

During the Makhado Sector Crime Forum’s monthly meeting last Thursday, the dismal state of lawlessness on the town’s road came under serious discussion (see article on page xx). Both the local traffic department and police voiced their concerns with regard to traffic violations in town. Both are just as dismayed as Claassens about motorists’ total disregard of traffic laws. “It is like people don’t have any respect for traffic officials anymore,” they remarked.

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

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