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The public are 'gatvol' with trucks.
Wouldn't you be?
The trucking industry has come under heavy flak over the past few weeks following a spate of high profile and tragic accidents that have really got the public up in arms against trucking. Listening in to some of the radio stations, it is obvious that the public are becoming increasingly annoyed and just plain 'gatvol' with trucks losing it on the roads and causing, at best, congestion havoc and at worst, the loss of lives.
FleetWatch has warned for ages that the day is going to come when the public are going to really take up arms against the trucking industry due to the shoddy practices of many truck operators out there. And I tend to agree with them. The number of trucks riding our roads that are in a state of absolute disrepair is shocking. One sees it everyday and if anyone doubts this, just consider the fact that at our first
FleetWatch Brake & Tyre Watch day held in the City Deep surrounds, of the 24 trucks taken off the roads for testing, 21 were served with Discontinuation of Service notices. At our Middelburg event, 35 were tested and 24 were served with Discontinuation of Service notices.
As Ted Stanton, now retired from SAB but still active, recently wrote to
FleetWatch: "It's just getting worse hey? I heard some commentary on the Jenny Crwys-Williams show on Radio 702 yesterday afternoon and the public were calling in and suggesting heavies be taken off the roads as they are a menace. This is not good for our industry! With the road situation as it is, I can see that someone is going to pop his head up and call for restrictions again on HCV's use of the highways. \"
Note his comment "this is not good for our industry". That is the crux of the issue. I am the first to come to the defence of the industry in times of crisis and I say this not from an arrogant - or partisan - point of view. Many a time I have been interviewed on radio being asked to comment when the industry looks like its going off the rails. What I always try do is take - and put across - an objective viewpoint. If the particular incident or issue is the fault of the truck or industry, I say so. If not, I try throwing a wider perspective on the issue. The problem, of course, is that when a truck is involved in an accident, the impact - on congestion and lives - is often much bigger than when cars bash each other. There is also a lot of ignorance regarding the trucking industry out there and it is important that perspective in thrown on things when it all seems to be getting out of hand.
However, what I have to highlight here does not require perspective. What it requires is action taken against this operator to get him and his trucks off the road. Read this and is it any wonder that the public despises this industry? It is trucks and operators like this who put the entire industry into disrepute. For those of you who aren't aware of it, we have introduced a Moegoe of the Month photographic competition where readers send in photographs of 'bad' trucks operating on the roads. In August, we featured a truck where the trailer was bashed and worse, the tyre on the rear axle was missing. The trailer was running on only one tyre of the set of twins at the rear. For those who didn't see it, go to our web site on
www.fleetwatch.co.za
and look for Moegoe of the Month in our August edition.
Just after publishing it, I received an email from Abdul Tayob, chief executive of Bakers Transport. Here's what he wrote: "I have received your excellent issue of August
FleetWatch and when I saw the story on "Moegoe of the Month", I was quiet sure I had seen this Moegoe before. When I investigated, I was correct. This was the trailer that had one of our new Actros trucks written off and our driver almost killed at Heidelburg in the dark hours of an early morning. No contour markings, no tail-lights, expired license and expired COF. Real crazy stuff. We are really heading for destruction in this country at this rate. How do the authorities allow vehicles like these to drive on our roads? Where are the cops? Blind? Or so stupid that they can only can focus on one thing at a time. If it is seal belt campaign, then even if you are drunk, it's OK so long as you have your seatbelt on." He was angry and understandably so. I phoned to find out the date and time of the accident. It was around 05h00 on May 22, 2007. I then phoned Steven Norris who had submitted the photograph of the 'moegoe' to ask him what time and date he had taken it. You won't believe it but it was at 09h29 on, you guessed it, May 22, 2007. And Norris took the photograph in Johannesburg.
I just cannot believe it. As Tayob says: "The same vehicle, driver and owner continues using the vehicle to load and travel on our roads before and after the destruction it caused. He needs to be shot". And by the way, according to Tayob, the driver told Bakers personnel on the scene of the accident that he was running without the tyre on the rear link (BNZ 997 NC) before the accident with the Bakers truck. The Actros was declared a write off. So a few hours before this vehicle was spotted in Johannesburg, it had written off a new R900 0000 Mercedes-Benz Actros." It's amazing. What I also have to ask is what were the cops who attended the accident scene thinking by letting this truck drive off and continue on its way to Johannesburg. Apart from the missing tyre, the COF was expired and a host of other faults were present. That truck should have been taken off the road and the owner charged. But it wasn't. It was allowed to continue on its way? Amazing. I highlight his story as an example of why I would, in many instances, side with the ire of the public. I just can't believe this. Can you?
Patrick O'Leary
Managing Editor
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Pictured in Johannesburg
on May 22, 2007 - 09h29. 
Previously involved in
an accident in Heidelberg on May 22, 2007 - 05h00, where this
Actros was taken out.
