'Abhorrent' truck driver suspended after viral video of reckless driving

Presenter John Maytham chats to Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly.

• The truck driver caught on camera driving dangerously in KwaZulu-Natal has been suspended from his job amid a disciplinary probe

• The truck he was driving belongs to a member company of the Road Freight Association

• Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly says traffic authorities need to crack down on errant truck drivers and revoke more licences

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The driver who was filmed driving recklessly on the R34 in KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend could lose his job and have his licence revoked.

In video footage that has been widely shared online, the driver can be seen dangerously overtaking other trucks, overtaking up blind hills, and speeding off after bumping the trailer of another vehicle.

Look at this truck driver…Mpumalanga. @TrafficRTMC @MbalulaFikile @_ArriveAlive pic.twitter.com/J1AH4qoElg

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) May 15, 2022

The Road Freight Association says the truck involved in the incident belongs to a member of the association.

CEO Gavin Kelly says they have reached out to the company to provide support during the investigation and disciplinary process.

"We've had discussions with them as soon as we identified that they were members of ours," he tells CapeTalk.

The employer can put the driver on suspension, which is what they have done, pending the processes that our labour law requires.

Gavin Kelly, CEO - Road Freight Association

According to Kelly, the truck driver has been suspended pending the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings.

Kelly says that there needs to be a registry for reckless truck drivers so that they don't get hired for driving jobs elsewhere after they are fired.

"We need a far better process of being able to list these abhorrent drivers so that they are not employed by anybody else again in terms of driving."

Kelly says traffic authorities also need to step up their game when it comes to cancelling licences and professional driving permits.

It's something that is really, really shocking. We've said quite clearly that this is unacceptable.

Gavin Kelly, CEO - Road Freight Association

From the video, you can see there is some acceleration going uphill. So, the question is what was going through this driver's mind.

Gavin Kelly, CEO - Road Freight Association

We're so thankful that there weren't any fatalities and it didn't turn into anything far worse than we have seen happening on the roads but we have to stop this sort of thing from happening.

Gavin Kelly, CEO - Road Freight Association

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