Beaufort West - The SA Roadlink bus which crashed outside Beaufort West on Tuesday, killing seven people, wasn’t permitted to drive on the N1.
Furthermore, the bus SA Roadlink sent to pick up passengers who were stranded after the accident was taken off the road because it wasn't roadworthy.
The passengers were eventually taken to Cape Town by a third bus, belonging to a bus company from Beaufort West.
"SA Roadlink's buses should never have driven through Beaufort West. The company doesn't have the necessary public transport permits for that route.
"The bus should have gone (from Johannesburg) through Pretoria, Upington and Springbok on its way to Cape Town, since they do have a permit for that route," said Xenophone Wentzel, spokesperson for the provincial traffic department on Wednesday.
Driver lost control
The SA Roadlink bus overturned early on Tuesday morning, about 6km from Beaufort West, after the driver had presumably fallen asleep and lost control of the bus.
Besides the seven passengers who died, three passengers were seriously injured and 38 sustained light injuries. According to Willie van Rooyen, Beaufort West traffic chief, the three passengers who were seriously injured are in a stable condition.
When the second SA Roadlink bus arrived in the town, it underwent a roadworthiness test which showed that it wasn't roadworthy, so it was taken off the road, said Van Rooyen.
"The breaks were uneven, the tyres were worn out, the bonnet was fastened with a piece of rope and the headlights were faulty."
Furthermore, the driver's public driving permit had expired.
Passengers screamed
Apparently the driver of the bus, which was supposed to fetch the stranded passengers, had told Van Rooyen that he was very tired.
According to an expert on passenger bus services, a driver is not allowed to drive for longer than eight hours. They must rest in between and there should be a second driver to take over when they drive through the night.
One of the passengers, Abdul Ngom, on Wednesday said the driver had been speeding shortly before the accident.
"The next moment the bus swerved and landed on its side. The passengers screamed."
After an e-mail with pertinent questions was sent to SA Roadlink early on Wednesday afternoon, and despite seven phone calls, the company still refused to respond to Die Burger's questions.
SA Roadlink spokesperson Mapaseka Mashele refused to speak to Die Burger on Wednesday morning and slammed down the phone. Die Burger tried several more times throughout the day to pose questions telephonically, but each time the phone was put down.
These freaking putco basses are terrible and some don't even have back lights!