Potential truck horror-crash averted
Two of Pinetown RTI's provincial inspectors pulled over a truck with numerous faults, including disconnected ABS brakes and loose tyre bolts.
BY pulling an unmaintained and loaded 16-wheeler truck off the road, two RTI provincial inspectors averted what could have been another Field’s Hill horror story.
The two provincial inspectors, Kapil Singh and Sabelo Dube, were performing a routine check at the Peacevale compulsory stop last Wednesday evening at about 5pm when they noticed a few visible but worrying faults with a truck.
“The truck was carrying a container on the day it was pulled over and we saw the booster covers were missing; these help the vehicle brake. There was no wheel flap, and we saw there was no brake lining on the drum on one of the wheels and a few of the bolts on the tyres were not tightened.”
The truck was then diverted to the Road Traffic Inspectorate’s weigh bed, based at the Mariannhill Motor Licensing Bureau Centre, to identify further faults to the heavy vehicle.
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Singh, a provincial inspector since 2009, and Dube, a provincial inspector since 2015, said they were horrified by the number of faults they later discovered under the vehicle.
Singh noted there were loose bolts on the undercarriage, oil leaks, the booster bolt was loose, a slack adjuster pin was missing, the ABS brakes were disconnected, the axle had shifted and one of the wheels was making contact with the spring hanger and the crossmember and the cross bolts were cracked.
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The vehicle was deemed unroadworthy and its licence was suspended. The trucking company was slapped with a R2 200 fine and an admin marker was placed on the vehicle.
“The truck will need to have the noted repairs done before taking it to a private testing station. Once it has passed there, it will need to be returned to the RTI centre where it will be tested again before it is deemed roadworthy,” said Dube.
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