The inquest into Rheenendal bus tragedy gets underway

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A Former regional service engineer for Tata Motors Limited, the manufacturer of the bus that plunged into a river killing 14 children and the driver at Rheenendal outside Knysna in August 2011, had "virtually no brakes" at the time of the accident.
Martin Graham was testifying in the Rheenendal bus disaster inquiry in the Knysna Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

Graham witnessed the aftermath of the crash on television, and immediately contacted Western Cape Transport MEC Robin Carlisle to assist with the investigation.

"I can conclude that the clutch was poor, the gear lever was poor and there were virtually no brakes, which were worn out. The suspension was also very poor."

Graham cited a complete lack of maintenance on the part of bus company owners, African Express, as the reason for the poor condition of the vehicle's components.

Under cross-examination Norman Arendse, one of the lawyers for the families of those killed, asked Graham - who has 40 years' experience in vehicle engineering - why he had left Tata and had come forward.

"I had a fall-out with the management, but in my three years at Tata I never experienced a failure rate of this nature."


John Harvey