Enforcing traffic laws, no exceptions
04 March 2021
The City of Cape Town’s Traffic Service officers arrested 93 suspects, suspended 110 vehicles for not being roadworthy and issued 3 748 fines in drag racing specific operations the last month. Two operations last week, in Brackenfell and Goodwood, netted nine people for drunk driving, four for reckless driving and 25 cases of speeding.
‘The City is bombarded daily with traffic complaints from every suburb. These include drag racing, the misbehaviour of taxi drivers, drunk motorists and the blatant disregard of traffic signs and signals. Traffic officers do as much as possible, but it’s unrealistic to expect one on every corner. Daily operations help us catch as many of these road criminals as possible and the only group that’s targeted are those who break the law,’ said the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
The City's Traffic Service is mandated to enforce the provisions of the National Road Traffic Act No. 93 of 1996.
It is national legislation which also states that any modification of, or tampering with a vehicle's safety design renders the vehicle unroadworthy, unless it is done by the manufacturer or a registered body builder.
In addition to the National Road Traffic Act, the SANS 047 (South African National Standard) is extensively used by motor vehicle examiners when conducting roadworthy checks on vehicles. The SANS 047 is very specific on unroadworthy issues such as suspensions and springs, steering columns, vehicle headlights and fog lamps, tinting of windows, and brakes, etc. Officers cannot choose which laws to enforce and which to ignore and therefore must suspend illegally modified vehicles from the road when they find them.
‘The City has no issue with motor vehicles that have been modified legally and in line with the legislation and standards. We have to enforce the law when vehicles are modified illegally, rendering them unsafe,’ said Alderman Smith.
Being supportive of the modifications of vehicles must not be equated with supporting illegal street races and reckless driving on public roads.
‘I would be quite happy for modified vehicles to be legal if it can be confirmed they are safe. We could see the traffic laws amended to provide for an exemption mechanism that would allow for modified vehicles to be certified as street legal once the safety of the modifications has been certified by a competent entity authorised by the Traffic Act. Such amendments would be the responsibility of the national government though. The City will continue to arrest motorists who participate in illegal races on charges of reckless and negligent driving,’ said Alderman Smith.
Like other traffic transgressions, drag racing is a problem across the city. This is mainly due to noise generated by racing in a space not designed for this and which impacts on surrounding residents, but complaints also arise about the danger posed to other road users and the anti-social behaviour of some participants.
‘What we want is the enactment of new regulations that will allow us to impose stricter penalties on illegal street racers, with very specific emphasis on those who evade or elude lawful instructions from an authorised official to pull over, including impounding their vehicles. This was evident even during recent operations when three drivers were fined for resisting arrest, crimen injuria and racism respectively. The disregard for law and order and lack of respect for officers cannot be tolerated. Where officers are at fault, the City acts against them without hesitation.
‘Based on my recent oversight visit, members of the public can be drunk, violent, physically and racially abusive towards officers. During one arrest in Brackenfell I witnessed officers doing their best to de-escalate an incident where a motorist was behaving appallingly and actively preventing them from enforcing the law. Ultimately, an arrest followed in response to this drunk driving offense after the driver swore at them, abused the staff, tried to bite them and refused to be tested. This is the other side of the coin; the truth and context that often doesn't make it onto social media with selectively edited videos,’ added Alderman Smith.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
