Govt intervention needed following deadly Pongola crash
Members of the Pongola community, in northern KwaZulu-Natal, say the've been raising concerns over the issue of truck safety for years.
They're bemoaning the devastating collision involving a truck and a bakkie, saying it should never have happened.
Twenty-one people, 19 of them schoolchildren, were killed in Friday's head-on smash.
READ: Union vows to revoke truck driver's membership following Phongolo crash
Community member Adrian Channing-Pearce says reckless driving and speeding remain serious problems.
He believes one of the reasons for this is the pay-per-load policy for some truckers.
Channing-Pearce says some 12 traffic officers patrol more than 100km of that stretch of the N2, seven days a week.
But local authorities are overwhelmed.
He says the area experiences at least one deadly crash a week.
"We need national government intervention here, we need to get the law enforcement up to speed. We need to get these trucks under control. There's a longer-term plan for Sanral to widen the road, but it is a 20 to 30-year programme so it's not going to happen overnight."
ALSO READ: Truck driver in Phongolo crash arrested
"We need to get the roadways fixed and we need to get law enforcement on the roads. Otherwise, we are going to have these accidents every week."
The driver of the truck is due to appear in court on Monday.
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