There has always been much debate and even uncertainty with regards to the safe transportation of workers. It is especially when it comes to the transportation of workers on bakkies or small utility vehicles where many small business owners and their workers are at risk. We would like to share a bit of a different perspective on this by referring to a question from a visitor to the Arrive Alive website.
Question:
“The metro police give us fines for carrying workers in the back of a vehicle but yet the government won’t let you claim the VAT on a double cab only on a single cabs. If I could claim the VAT for my business I would buy my staff double cabs.
Running a business in this country just not viable any more we just feed the fat cats..”
What does the Law stipulate?
You may have persons in the back of a bakkie. Reg 247 and 250 apply.
Circumstances under which persons may be carried on goods vehicle
Reg 247. No person shall operate on a public road a goods vehicle conveying persons unless that portion of the vehicle in which such persons are being conveyed is enclosed to a height of—
(a) at least 350 millimetres above the surface upon which such person is seated; or
(b) at least 900 millimetres above the surface on which such person is standing, in a manner and with a material of sufficient strength to prevent such person from falling from such vehicle when it is in motion.
Provided that no person shall be conveyed in the goods compartment together with any tools or goods, except their personal effects, unless that portion in which such persons are being conveyed is separated by means of a partition, from the portion in which such goods are being conveyed.
Persons not to be carried in goods compartment for reward
Reg 250. No person shall on a public road carry any person for reward in the goods compartment of a motor vehicle
Additional Commentary by Justice Project South Africa
Yes, it is not unlawful to transport workers in the load bay of a bakkie or truck, provided that:
- The sides of the bakkie/truck are more than 350mm high and the passengers sit inside the load bay; or
- The sides of the bakkie/truck are more than 900mm high and the passengers stand inside the load bay; and
- Any tools or goods, except their personal effects are physically separated from the passengers.
But was that the question/comment?
Mr B was commenting that Metro Police fine him for carrying workers in his bakkie and should be informed correctly that he may only do so if the tools, etc. in the back of the bakkie are physically partitioned from the workers.
But he also correctly commented that SARS will not entertain VAT refunds for double-cab bakkies and clearly stated that if they were to, he would buy double-cabs instead.
There are several problems here in that whilst it may indeed be legal to transport passengers on the back of bakkies, no-one can argue that it is in any way safe. When bakkies crash, persons on the back always come off second best and generally incur serious injuries or are killed due to the fact that they get ejected.
Additionally, many people see the transportation of workers on the back of bakkies as being some kind of racist practice, and traffic cops are no exception. After all, “playing the race card” is a South African national pastime. Whilst I will readily agree that there are some people who regard their workers as part of their tools of trade, I simply cannot agree that this is the case with all contractors, etc.
As is evident from Mr B’s comments, there are indeed many small business owners who would readily buy (much safer) double-cab bakkies in which to transport their workers, but they are deterred from doing so by a tax system that regards a double-cab bakkie as a luxury/passenger motor vehicle instead of a commercial vehicle. It is also not a practical argument to say that this could be circumvented by buying a panel van since panel vans do not come with proper seats and seatbelts, which is the case with minibuses on which VAT may not be claimed back either.
I am informed that some of the mines are now prevailing upon SARS to include double-cab bakkies in the classification of commercial vehicles since their Occupational Health and Safety rules expressly forbid carrying workers on the back of bakkies and this is a good thing.
However, whilst we have legislation which actively allows and indeed, promotes dangerous practices like carrying workers on the back of bakkies, as well as a revenue service which will penalise small businesses for wanting to assure that their workers are safer than they would be on the back of bakkies, we will continue to see the carnage that results from crashes involving bakkies.
In my view, this is a typical example of the law being an ass of epic proportion.
Best Regards,
Howard Dembovsky
National Chairman – Justice Project South Africa (NPC)
Association Not For Gain | Incorporated as a non-profit company under the Companies Act, 2008
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