By Johnathan Paoli
Speeding, negligence, overloading, and severe mechanical failure combined to cause the Limpopo bus crash that killed 43 people last week on the N1 North, according to preliminary findings released by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
The preliminary report found that the vehicle was “grossly unroadworthy”, with only five of its 10 brakes working, one brake completely non-functional, and all four brakes on its trailer failing.
Investigators also found that the trailer’s suspension had been poorly repaired, leaving the bus with only half its intended braking capacity.
The department of transport (DOT) released the preliminary findings this weekend.
The RTMC said the driver was travelling too fast for the mountain pass conditions and had been compensating for the brake defects by adjusting his driving style — a strategy that failed when the vehicle began descending the steep N1 pass.
The bus had been travelling from Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape to Harare, Zimbabwe, and carried nationals from Malawi, Congo and Zimbabwe among its passengers.
Weather and road conditions played no role in the disaster, the report found. It said that visibility was good, the surface of the N1 was in excellent condition, and all road markings and warning signs leading to the downhill stretch were clear and reflective.
The bus, designed to carry 62 passengers, was transporting 91 people at the time of the crash, including 11 children aged three to five. Under national traffic regulations, the vehicle was still overloaded by 23 passengers even after applying the “two children equal one adult” calculation.
The trailer was packed with baggage and personal items, adding more strain to the compromised braking system.
Forty-three people died at the scene or shortly afterwards, while 34 sustained serious injuries and six suffered minor wounds. Eight passengers reportedly declined medical treatment and left before their details could be recorded.
Transport minister Barbara Creecy has called for an urgent need to strengthen oversight of long-distance transport operations.
DOT spokesperson Collen Msibi described the tragedy as “a preventable disaster rooted in human recklessness and regulatory failure”.
He said the department would “pursue accountability without fear or favour”.
“Forty-three lives were lost because safety standards were ignored. We owe it to the victims and their families to ensure justice and systemic reform so that such a tragedy never happens again,” Msibi said.
Creecy has directed the RTMC to widen its investigation to determine the bus company’s responsibility in ensuring the vehicle’s roadworthiness, and to explore the possibility of culpable homicide charges against the operator.
She also ordered that the RTMC obtain the bus’s full maintenance and service records, and work with the Anti-Corruption Unit to identify which road testing centre issued its roadworthy certificate.
The department will also liaise with provincial law enforcement to ensure that all foreign-registered buses entering South Africa undergo mandatory roadworthy inspections.
The RTMC’s full technical reconstruction report will take another 21 weeks to complete.
Investigators will also look into operations at weighbridges, where the overloading should have been detected before the vehicle continued its journey north.
Msibi said the department would act swiftly on all recommendations, including more stringent inspections of heavy vehicles and stronger enforcement along dangerous mountain passes.
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