Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has directed the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to investigate the bus company's responsibility in ensuring the roadworthiness of the bus involved in the Limpopo crash and to further consider a culpable homicide complaint against the bus company.

This after a preliminary investigative report found that the bus and trailer only had five out of the ten brakes in operational condition and that one brake on the bus had no braking ability.

The crash led to the loss of 43 lives and scores of injured passengers on Sunday on the N1 North, Limpopo.

“It was established that out of five brakes on the bus one brake was not in an operational condition. None of the four brakes on the trailer had been in any operational condition and the suspension had also been poorly repaired,” the report indicted.

Creecy said this meant that the bus and trailer only had half of its braking capacity as the other half had not been operational for a long time.

“...therefore, the bus and trailer were not in a roadworthy condition by virtue of the defective braking system and the poorly repaired suspension of the trailer,” she explained.

She further highlighted the driver of the bus and trailer were allegedly aware of the braking deficiency and that the driver had adapted his driving style to accommodate this defect.

The report also noted that a major contributing factor to the cause of the bus crash was high speed.

Creecy requested the maintenance schedule and service records of the bus in question and said the Anti-Corruption Unit must establish which road-testing center issued a roadworthy certificate for the bus.

She called on the RTMC to liaise with provincial law enforcement authorities to ensure a compulsory roadworthy inspection on the DNC Coach Fleet coming through SA Border Post.

The investigation by the RTMC further revealed that the bus had a seating capacity to accommodate 62 persons, however there were 92 occupants in the bus at the time of the crash.

“There were 11 children between the ages of three to five years old and if Regulation 231 of the National Road Traffic Regulation 2000 is applied then two children between the ages of three to six years old shall be counted as one person. This implies that at the time, the vehicle was overloaded by 23 persons.

“It has been established that the trailer attached to this bus was loaded with baggage and personal belongings,” the report stated.