fallen on truck owner liability
following last month’s plea
agreement in the Field’s Hill
case, with transport lawyers
suggesting that stronger
sanctions against operators
within the auspices of the
National Traffic Act (NTA)
would not be unrealistic.
But they have stressed that
improved enforcement of the
regulations is key to ensuring
maximum penalties.
Gregory Govender, the
owner of the truck that
ploughed into several vehicles
on Field’s Hill in Pinetown
in September 2013 killing 24
people, has entered into a plea
agreement with the State that
sees him doing no jail time
but instead having to pay a
R25 000 fine.
Meanwhile Sanele May,
the driver of the vehicle, is
currently serving a 10-year
sentence at Umzinto Prison in
Scottburgh, KwaZulu Natal.
The SA National Civic
Organisation (Sanco) has since
called for truck operators/fleet
owners to face the “full wrath
of the law” for carnage on the
country’s roads
“Truck drivers are put under
tremendous pressure by their
companies who must
not be exonerated,”
said Sanco
spokesperson
Jabu Mahlangu,
claiming that
long-distance
drivers were
in most cases
“sacrificial
lambs” who took
the fall for “unrealistic
company policies”.
Nerisha Besesar, partner,
and Nick Veldman, associate
in the litigation department at
Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys
told FTW that the call from
Sanco was “somewhat realistic”
but noted that each case should
be judged independently and
on its own facts.
“When comparing the
sentences handed down in
the Field’s Hill incident, it’s
important to correlate those
sentences
with the types
of charges
brought
against the
driver and the
owner and then
their responses
towards their
respective
charges,” said
Besesar. The
charges against
the driver,
Sanele May, were not just in
relation to the accident itself
but included charges relating to
holding a fake driver’s licence
and entering South Africa
illegally, she added.
“There were 31 charges
against him and he pleaded
guilty to all of them. There
were four charges against
the owner and these
ranged from operating
an unroadworthy
vehicle‚ failing to
ensure public safety by
giving maintenance
responsibilities to unqualified
persons, as well as employing
an illegal foreigner and failing
to do a proper background
check,” she said, pointing out
that the owner had entered into
a plea and sentence agreement
with the National Prosecuting
Authority (NPA).
“One can therefore see this as
attributing a ‘lighter sentence’
to the owner than the driver,”
she said.
Peter Lamb, director at law
firm Norton Rose Fulbright,
told FTW that while the NTA
did prescribe
certain
penalties to
truck owners
in incidents
such as this
one, some
might argue
that the current
penalties in
the Act were
insufficient.
“In my view,
the current
legislation under the NTA is
sufficient but there needs to be
improved enforcement of the
provisions of the Act. This is
something the Department of
Transport should focus on,” he
said.
According to Lamb,
unroadworthy trucks and
unlicensed drivers are “simply
unacceptable”. “Sanctions for
non-compliance with the NTA
must be strengthened and
enforced with greater vigour,”
he said.
Veldman agreed, pointing out
that there were police officers
and state attorneys who worked
“tirelessly” to ensure offenders
were brought to book. “However
the number of road deaths
and injuries are indicative
of a lack of enforcement,” he
said, suggesting that more
resources should be allocated to
investigating officers and state
attorneys to ensure that the
“most justifiable” outcome was
reached once the matter was
pursued criminally.
The number of road
deaths and injuries
are indicative of a
lack of enforcement.
– Nick Veldman
