President Ramaphosa conveys condolences as R21 bus crash fatalities rise

KEMPTON PARK - President Cyril Ramaphosa has conveyed his deeppest condolences following the reported deaths of 16 persons in a bus crash on the R21 near OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday, 11 March.

The President offers his sympathy to the bereaved families and wishes survivors of the incident a speedy and full recovery.

President Ramaphosa’s thoughts are also with the families of at least nine bus passengers who lost their lives in an incident in KwaZulu-Natal this past weekend, in which 39 people were injured as well.

The President said: “While the causes of these recent incidents are still under investigation, we are reminded that tragedies such as these leave more than physical scars, as they cause trauma that affects family relationships and the lives of survivors.

Incidents such as these impact on people’s ability to earn a living; they impact in our health and emergency services; they drive up insurance and result in expensive vehicle repairs, and they affect business who lose personnel in this process.

As we reflect on the lives that have been lost, we must also reflect on the responsibility and conduct of everyone who gets in behind the wheel of a vehicle, big and small, in our country.

When we ask how safe our roads are, we actually need to ask how safe we are as drivers and pedestrians. The biggest factor in crashes is human error, not law enforcement or road conditions.

Drivers must ensure vehicles are roadworthy and must obey the rules of the road. They are there to keep us safe.

Where drivers ignore these rules, they stand a chance of losing their lives or being critically injured. And where they survive, they will end up in our courts and correctional centres.”