Public Opinion and Public Forum

We at Speedtraps.co.za receive so many emails from people telling us how angry or how irritated they are with bad drivers, taxis, fine payment issues and the methods that the traffic police use to trap...

These days people don't get a chance to voice their true opinions here in South Africa but here at Speedtraps.co.za we feel that this is absolutely important. We want you to tell it like it is...

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Below we have placed various emails and letters from the public. We invite you to voice your opinions on speeding, hi-jacking and general road traffic topics that we can all relate to.

The following article appeared on Mail & Guardian Online (website) on 7 July 2008 and refers to the up-coming 12-points system that will be rolled out over the next 6 months. ZAHIRA KHARSANY | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

Tshwane motorists need to obey the traffic laws and be aware of how they drive or they could find themselves losing their licences with the new demerit project that has been rolled out.

The Administrative Adjudication of Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) provides for a demerit system, encompassing the demerit points scheme, whereby a driver gains points on his or her licence, for any traffic offences committed. Accumulated points can lead to a fine or licences being taken away.

AARTO has been on the cards since 1998 when the Act was approved by the government. The pilot project is being rolled out in Tshwane and will extend to the rest of the country by the end of January 2009.

Launched by the Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe on Thursday, the project is expected to fulfil the objective to encourage people to drive safely.

Thandi Moya, spokesperson for the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said: "It was more the technical side that needed to be in a state of readiness. It was completely a technical issue and now we are ready for the pilot project. The pilot will be only for Tshwane and then it will extend to Johannesburg and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and then to Ekurhuleni, before complete roll out next year."

According to Arrive Alive it has been delayed for several years pending a feasibility study and other requirements, including an assessment of technological requirements, law enforcement criteria and an analysis of human resources needed to get the system up and running.

"The demerit system is not applicable immediately. There is an amnesty period but it will be fully in place by next year for the complete roll out. Infringements will be classed as either minor or major and they can be contested," said Moya.

According to Moya, the existing judicial system is unable to effectively manage the volume of traffic offences and fine notices that are issued on a daily basis.

"AARTO does not deal with any traffic offence for which a fine is not payable; these will still be dealt with through the court process." AARTO is expected to provide a better and more effective policing procedure and a swifter adjudication process, but the Automobile Association (AA) is sceptical.

Head of public relations at the AA, Rob Handfield-Jones, welcomes the roll-out of AARTO. "We have been calling for the implementation of a demerit system for the past 48 years. It is a powerful tool, but we have some concerns regarding it.

"The fly in the ointment is the poor quality of law enforcement. The budgets of many municipalities receive a large contribution from traffic law enforcement and the focus has been on securing this revenue stream, usually by speed trapping," he said.

"The AA is concerned that people are now at risk of losing their licences over repeated minor infractions resulting from revenue-driven enforcement," said Handfield-Jones. "The benefits of AARTO will only be unlocked by enforcement that targets truly dangerous drivers," he said.

AARTO is expected to use the revenue it derives from the collection of fines for improvements in road traffic management structures and initiatives.

Email from James, Sunday 13 April 2008:

I now live in the US and I wish all South Africans would fight like this for their civil liberties. Congrats to you guys for fighting the good fight. Check out this funny link: Left Lane News

Email from Gatvol, Friday 9 May 2008:

It's great to have a place to air our views, but is anything actually been done to solve any problems? How about forming a national traffic department that actually attends to people speeding, using emergency lanes and driving through red robots? The problem would quickly and easily be solved if we had a couple of snipers taking out bad drivers instead of fining them.

Email from George, Wednesday 7 May 2008:

Hi, I confronted a City of CT cop who was hiding under a bush seated on a camping chair with a laser taking photographs of cars on a double lane coming down a hill (Ou Kaapseweg) earlier this afternoon. He refused to give me his employee number but told me his name was R de Koker. I asked him what he was doing and he basically said to me I don't understand what he's doing. I checked - he was snapping away! I took down his car license number (parked on the opposite side of the road, nogal!) and left telling him that I am fetching my camera. I returned less than 5 minutes later and this guy was packing up! I took some pictures of him and his van & camera but he was hiding his face all the time! What is worse is when I asked him if he had ever been in the area in the morning and he was stunned. The reason is there is a traffic light 80 metres from where he had set up camp that short-times in the mornings (last 2 months) and only allows approx 3 cars through travelling from SW to NE on the main Rd and sometimes causes queues to back up for almost 1,5 kms. This is just crazy and I would like to know who I can report this to as I believe this is morally reprehensible? Thanks for the time - cheers...

Email from Robert, Friday 3 February 2007:

What can be done to stop Cape Town companies using "out-of-state" registrations? The revenue for their road licence is not going to the repair of the roads that they use! Telkom for one uses Eastern Cape registrations on all of its vans...

Email from Ronjinsan, Friday 2 February 2007:

I am 58 years old and ride a scooter to work. I have done this for over 35 years. This morning I was chased and signalled off the road by an irate and abusive white officer of the Metro police who had entered the traffic onto the N1 from the Parow side going down Tygerberg hill.

He appeared angry and frustrated and accused me of travelling at high speed. I saw this officer in his car edging into the traffic half way down the slope and when the way was clear I went past him as he was stationary. He was at ends to explain what the problem was and he was waving and pointing fingers at me in front of a stream of people in cars.

I asked what the problem was and he said that he nearly hit me as he was turning out. I asked if he had not seen my headlight which I keep on full beam at all times, to which he replied that his vehicle had a blind spot. I asked him what I had done wrong and he said that IF he had turned out he may have caused an accident. I really didn't follow his derogatory speech as:
a) I was in my lane,
b) the lane was dotted line on both sides, and
c) I was watching the traffic with my usual care having done this thousands of times over the years without a single accident.

After several minutes of banter from which I gathered nothing he said: "Don't let me catch you again"… and wandering off in a huff called back: "I'll fine you next time". I have no idea how he would fine me and what he would write on the fine, he was acting like a child and looked like one without his hat gesticulating at me. I believe that he was probably edging into the traffic maybe half asleep when I passed him and he probably got a fright.

It is unfortunate that a law official should act in this way and I believe and indeed hope that his case is not the norm. I am passed by many large motorcycles every morning which are both noisy and travel at high speeds through the traffic, and yet he decides to chastise an elderly person on a small scooter because he CAN.

Email from Spinnekop, Sunday 14 January 2007:

Hi, I have just read through the emails that you have received and I have noted that some of the "clever well informed" people were just trying to remind us aboud speeding that is unsafe and hazardous to each other. I agree to a point, but wouldn't you say that a little bit of speeding with a well designed car capable of handling high speeds is more safe than a wreck that is overloaded travelling at the speed limit.

Where I live, everyday I see old HiAce combi's packed to up to 30 people speeding up to the legal limit of 100km/h. When you pass this driver you can actually see him sweating and battling to control his deathtrap full of innocent people. One of such vehicles were pulled off and his whole steering mechanism was held together by wire. Why don't the authorities start targeting these vehicles and become more visible?? Speeding will be reduced and unsafe vehicles will be off the road.

Answer to this .....It will never happen because later the arresting officer will be sorted out by the kombi or drivers associations.

Incident:
About a week ago I was travelling behind a taxi and both of us was stopped by traffic cops.For not wearing a safety belt I was fined R400.00. The combi that was also pulled before me I could see that the lights were completely dead at the rear and the rear bumper was just about scraping the ground. He was waved trough after a few quick words with the black officer .The other one was issuing the ticket to me.

The officer walked over to my car and said \'\' Umlungu switch on your lights! I flatly ignored him because the officer was already busy with me and asking for my details. The other one again screamed at me: "Whitey switch on your lights are you deaf?????". I asked the presiding officer to inform his colleague to show respect and he will receive respect. The reason why I said it, when the officer addressed me as Umlungu he was actually trying to belittle or swear at me. Umlungu is roughly translated to: "foam of the sea".

The end of this story was that the second officer called for help on the radio because I was apparantly resisting arrest and failed to comply with a instruction given to me ???????

Luckily I presume for me the next set of officers that arrived were a little bit more adult and greeted me, and I responded likewise. They enquired what the problem was and I told them the lack of respect from their colleague prompted my non-response and because an officer was already busy with me.

I requested that I be given his badge number, when I said this, the officer in question started swearing at me in Zulu and ranting about apartheid etc.... I was told to go to the senior officer and to forget about the fine. It will be sorted out. As I got back in to my car the asshole that was causing all of this said to me in no unclear words I've got your registration number. We will see each other again. This country is going to pieces and somebody somewhere has to start opening their eyes.

Email from Leah, Tuesday 9 January 2007:

Hi - I am so peed off right now. I received a speeding fine for R2500.00 at the Eilat Viaduct - N3 Commercial road Durban offramp. I didn't even know that the police work on a Sunday after 17.00pm. I was doing 95 in a 60 zone. That is such a terrible place to have a camera because you are coming off the freeway at 120km/h and still slowing down so the odds of you exceeding the speed limit are high. I now have to go to the court to ask for leniency because I dont have the money to pay this fine. Why don't the cops catch real criminals like the one that smashed my window at the Albert Park robots last week. I might as well take the taxis now because they seem to be immune to fines.

News Article Submitted by from Colin, Tuesday 14 November 2006:

"Foxy double cameras set to outsmart speedsters" by Jani Meyer

SPEEDSTERS who think they can outsmart the authorities by slowing down for speed traps and then putting foot be warned the authorities have caught on New speed traps will measure average speeds between two points.
The new average speed determinator was this week put in place on the N3 between Durban and Pietermaritzburg and will be fully operational in time for the holiday rush to the coast.

It measures the average speed of vehicles by using licence plate recognition (LPR) units installed at toll plazas or on bridges above traffic lanes several kilometres apart.
Even if a driver is travelling within the legal speed limit when he passes the two cameras, the system will be able to calculate whether he was speeding between the sites.
I-Cube, a systems integrations company based in Durban, provided the system software. A pilot site was launched on Friday and will be oper ational from December to February.
Barry Dudley, of I-Cube said each unit captured images, read number plates and sent the data through a network to a central computer. This matched the pairs and calculated the average speed between two points.
The system is used internationally, but the test site will be the first of its kind in South Africa.
The system can be connected to roadside traffic signs that warn drivers that they are speeding. Apart from tracking speedsters the system will be used to identify stolen and cloned cars.
During the three month trial period the central computer will be linked to Unicode, an information system which has a record of all vehicles reported stolen by insurers.
The South African Police Service, the Metro Police and vehicle tracking companies will be able to download information on wanted and stolen vehicles.
In a similar project by I-Cube that used Licence Plate Recognition soft ware earlier this year, it was found that as many as 5% of vehicles travelling on the N3 had been reported stolen.
A further 40% did not have number plates or had obscured plates.
jani.meyer@inl.co.za

Email from James, Sunday 12 November 2006:

Hi there, a few Sundays ago, I took a trip from Bedfordview (Johannesburg) with my girlfriend to go and have a look around the Pretoria Zoo. I have never actually gone to Pretoria Central as there was no need for me to. I got terribly lost for a while, and was trying to navigate my way through the city when a Tswane Metro cop pulled me over. At the time I was totally calm because I really thought that I did not do anything which was considered to be against the law. I thought he was just going to check my license and registration. When I winded down my window, the cop said to me that I was going to pay for what I did, so I asked him what I did and then he told me and pointed out to me that I had gone straight in a turning only lane - no other cars which were in the same lane as me got pulled over by him. I told him that this was my first time in Pretoria and I was lost, he said: "In Pretoria, thats R1500!". I could not believe my ears!! I thought he was joking, until he handed me the fine!

You see the thing was that I was in my fathers BMW, I am a student still, my car is a VW Golf!! I think he made the fine proportionate to the vehicle's price, which I think is really unacceptable, since I'm just a student. I'm waiting for the summons to come and I'm going to defend it. The other day I stopped next to an Ekhuruleni Metro cop and asked him what the fine was in Joburg for doing the same thing and he said: "Maximim R350!!! Im shocked!!

Email from Kas, Wednesday 1 November 2006:

I would like to warn motorists about roadblocks in the Umgeni road area in Durban. Last Friday (27 October) there was a roadblock near the Steers. Police were checking for alcohol, licences, and roadworthinessness of vehicles. This process can take about 30 minutes. Two weeks before (13 October) they were further up the road on Umgeni Road before the bridge as well as the Higginson Highway (near the Bayview offramp in Chatworth). In two weeks time (10 November) they are expected to be at the Umgeni road section near steers and Makro as well. They will hold similar roadblocks at the Higginson Highway as well. I takes place at about 8pm going into the early hours of the morning. I hope this information is shown to the public because many of them want to get home quickly and are on their way home from work and the last thing they want is to get caught in piles of traffic for up to an hour.

Email from Dawie, Wednesday 25 October 2006:

Hi all. Today im gatvol. Spietcops is above the law. Last week I got a R1500 fine for speeding. This morning I saw a metro copper on his bike doing 140+ in a 100 Zone!!!! No lights, no siren!!! I took his reg. no. and phoned their control room. I`m fedddd upppp with this joke of a country that we live in. They just want to make money and sit back under a tree.

Email from AcidRaZor, Tuesday 24 October 2006:

I just read your user opinion (28 August 2006) and would like to comment.

The idea of speedtraps is not to make money or to create the "illusion" that traffic officials are the devil. It's put in place to catch offenders who speed. Speeding is breaking the law. It not only puts your life in danger but others as well.

I've been a victim of an idiot who thought it would be awesome to speed while he was drunk. This not only caused me alot of trauma but I lost everything I've worked for and had to rebuild from scratch due to some "devil"

If you keep to the speed limit you have no worries about getting a fine now don't you?

Please wake the f*ck up because YOU are the cause of many deaths on these roads....

Email from John, Sunday 22 October 2006:

For your public opinion discussion board: Will you all just stop for a second and listen to yourselves...you are like kids, having a go at the cops because you got a fine. Everyone always likes to point fingers. When you get busted, you point fingers at the taxis, but the point is quite simply that you have been busted because you were committing an offence...END OF STORY!!! Think about that the next time a child gets killed by an "innocent" speeding car... not necessarily a taxi. Kids.....

Email from Wayne, Wednesday 18 October 2006:

Traveling between Struisbaai and Bredasdorp yesterday, I went passed a traffic officer hiding in the bush with his speed trap. 200 meters later another trap. Call that desparate for revenue. Our countrys crime is out of control. Would be very interesting to find out how many traffic officals we have compared to policemen. Rape, murder, etc does not bring a income like speedtraps do. ANYONE KNOW THE STATS?

Email from Krishna, Thursday 12 October 2006:

I think this system stinks. Our problem is that the officials are trying to catch people speeding by hiding cameras and speed traps whereas in first world countries they try to prevent it by clearly marking and indicating where cameras are!!!! But then again our Dept. President did rape an HIV+ woman and claimed all is welll because he had a shower and got away with it.

Email from Supporter, Monday 28 August 2006:

Traffic officials are the devil. See my problem with all traffic cops that hide in the bushes with speedtraps is that they are supposed to be enforcing the speed limit. Now think about this, if the cop is hiding in the bushes and you don't see him, you aren't even going to know that you have received a fine, let alone slow down.

If you know the speedtrap is there, you slow down.

Email from a FED-Up Supporter, Tuesday 25 July 2006:

I would like to know from Blaauwberg Traffic Department why your very lazy traffic Officers are again using the public bus shelters to do their speed measurement from. They were instructed once before to vacate these shelters, as it was built for the convenience of bus commuters and not for your personnel. Why don't you instruct the traffic police to do what they should be doing and keep the road safe for tax paying vehicle owners and not carry on trying to boost the city's income by continuously fining people for driving 10 km/h too fast(hardly a real safety risk), rather than actually catching the minibus taxis and golden arrow buses running red lights and pushing other cars off the road just 500 metres down the road from where they are very cosily occupying a public bus shelter.

Email from Craig, Monday 17 July 2006:

Ok so its not directly traffic related but it does concern licensing and I think its worth a mention.

How this for efficiency. I went to centurion licensing department to go renew my drivers, this was in mid FEBRUARY. There was a queue as expected, nothing out of the ordinary. Of course there was ONE person doing the eye tests for everybody there (the other 3-4 booths were empty), ONE person at finger prints and maybe a couple at the counter, I can't even remember anymore. But once again this is to be expected so the only option is to stand and wait for a few hours wasting time. After eventually getting out of there I thought that the worst was over at least. Well that's just the beginning.

Visit #1. I couldn't pick up the card 6 weeks later myself so I sent someone else there with my ID to pick it up. Turns out you need a certified copy of both persons ID's and a certified letter to say that this person is authorized to pick the license up (a bit of over-kill I thought but fair enough I should have checked what was required first).

Visit #2. I got all the certification done and the following week my "collector" person went to fetch my card again. "No sorry we haven't sent it off yet because there is a problem with the finger prints". (So if there was a problem they could have at least told the person to inform me the first time).

Visit #3. I managed to get time off work a couple weeks later to go sort out the prints and hope that they would do it properly this time. When I got there the story was, "It has been sent through, you can pick it up in 3 weeks". - WTF what happened to the finger print problem?

Visit #4. Three weeks later my "collector" went off again. "Sorry but it is not ready yet you can pick it up in 3 weeks" -That's what they said 3 weeks ago, so they must only have sent it through again on the 3rd visit.

It is now mid JULY and 5 MONTHS later and I still haven't got the new card. If it isn't there on the visit #5 then I don't know what to do next. It is supposed to take 6 WEEKS not 6 MONTHS. And they were "polite" enough to recommend that I get a temp. license in the mean-time because my old one in now expired. So that's another queue they want me to stand in and another Rxx to pay out for there stuff up. I refuse, if I get pulled over and fined for the old license I will not pay.

And how stupid is this, I went to get a new passport at the same time and I've had it for 4 months now. They didn't even ask for any certified copies of anything when my "collector" picked it up. -WTF So they want to be strict on license renewal but any Joe Soap can go pick up someone else's passport. There's something screwy with this system.

Email from a Motorcyclist, Monday 10 July 2006:

First, some context:

"According to the SABS specifications, any lane on a freeway HAS to be of a certain width to accommodate a certain speed. For the Danie Joubert Freeway section each lane is 300mm narrower than the prescribed width to allow 120km/h speeds, resulting in the speed being lowered to 100km/h."

All right, now I'm a dedicated motorcyclist, and yes, I do drive between lanes when traffic is standing still. I've worked in Houghton for the past year, whilst living in Menlyn. Any guesses why I commute on a motorcycle? I can tell you with confidence that the concrete highway near and through Johannesburg is definitely narrower than the freeway near Centurion. The only place where this is not true is for about 200m past the Botha lane onramp towards Menlyn, where the extra lane merging at the side takes up some space. Don't tell me this 200m is the cause of kilometres of road being limited. Not to mention that the other side of the freeway is perfect, with more than enough space in that area.

As for speed killing... bikers _live_ to speed, and I'd know. Strangely enough, every accident I've ever had has been below the speed limit, usually where I get hit by a driver who doesn't feel like checking or indicating before pulling a suicidal turn or lane change. I've been lucky... but many others aren't. They'd need an Ouija board to write messages.

Very few accidents happen at excessive speed. Many more happen because of poor driving skills. I've had to develop reflexes and peripheral awareness to a remarkable degree merely to survive jhb's drivers. I'm not talking about any particular segment here. I've been swiped at by 1.4l Citigolfs, 3l BMWs, Taxis, Bakkies, and 4x4s of all shapes and sizes. If there's anything I'm against, it's the Toyota Hilux-type drivers who sit up high and have virtually no awareness of the road... and because they're safe in their mobile fortresses, they don't bother to look around. Get people in the habit of paying attention, and you're on your way to a solution.

Personally I'm of the opinion that motorcycling should be made as safe as possible, through the use of legislation seriously punishing the 'I didn't see the bike' school of drivers. Almost every car I go past on the freeway has exactly one person in it. Think how much less congested the roads would be with less cars on them...

Email from Soozie, Saturday 8 July 2006:

Unfair deliberate moneymaking speed traps!

On a recent trip to Kimberley I passed through Wolmeranstad and was trapped about 2km on the far outskirts of the town on the Kimberley road but unknowingly still in the 60kph zone doing 116kph and received a fine of R1000.00 a week later in the post. On a return trip to Kimberley I checked where the offence occurred and I found that the laser camera was still being operated every day by a traffic officer lying in a concealed culvert about 150m from the 120kph sign (where he had previously photographed my vehicle probably with a telephoto lens about 50m from the sign) as I was accelerating up to the legal 120kph zone ahead. When I wrote to the chief traffic officer to complain about the unfairness of the trapping method he refused to show any leniency and just wrote "prosecute" on the reply. I suspect that the traffic department has a scam operating where they get a financial kickback on the fines that they generate from this lucrative spot where hundreds of unsuspecting motorists are caught, as I was, and just pay the fine when they receive them as they cannot afford the time or cost to go to court in Wolmeranstad to contest the unfairness of the trapping method. It would be interesting to be able to canvass all the motorists trapped in this particular spot and calculate just how big the scam is! ( e.g. 30 per hour x 8 hours = 240 x R1000.00 = R240000.00 per day!) Be Warned! From an unfairly prosecuted friend.

Email from a "Durbanite", Monday 3 July 2006:

Law Enforcement at its Best, Really!

Hi to all in Durban,

I thought that sharing my experience with you may save you the displeasure of receiving a parking fine of R1000 whilst dinning at Durban's Restaurants.

On Sunday evening, 2nd July 2006 at 19h00 (yes 7pm Sunday night) as I walked out of a local restaurant in Albert Street, I saw hoards of Metro Cars with Police Officials issuing parking tickets in a frenzy to "catch" as many as possible of un-suspecting restaurant patrons.

I walked up to my vehicle whilst the Police Official was excelling in her duties & stuck my hand out to receive my parking bill.

All of the drivers were frustrated that a simple Sunday evening family dinner was spoilt by this horrific raid of Police Officials. There were about four Police Cars & about 10 or so Police Officials doing an "excellent job" enforcing the law.

The Metro Police Officials arrived quietly & took advantage of the situation by not sounding their sirens upon their arrival. To further intimidate patrons, two marked Metro Police vehicles completely blocked off the South-bound traffic lanes so that none of the drivers may drive off without receiving their fine. Drivers were charged R1000 for "obstruction" as they were parked diagonally. Parking diagonally, although illegal, is the only way that the large number of restaurant patrons may be accommodated in close proximity to the restaurants. (Noting that this method of parking is only adopted after hours when there is no through traffic). Parking further down the streets may result in a mugging, hijacking or getting your window smashed.

If parking is such a problem to the Municipality, then the Municipality should NOT grant as many restaurant licenses as they already have. In many of the streets in Durban there may be more than 6 restaurants in less than one hundred meter stretch.

As a Durbanite & City Dweller, we need to be thankful that there are so many of these foreign restaurants around as they "liven-up" the City in these crime-ridden times. They have bright lights that light up the pavements making it a little safer for families to walk about. In addition to the restaurants, some micro-traders sell there little bits on the pavements making a short stroll to your vehicle more enjoyable. That section of Albert street made me feel as if I was in Fordsburg again - Except in Fordsburg the Traffic Police are more tolerant, Thank you Gauteng!

As a South African, it is no surprise today that the Police Services target the general public but ignore the real criminals.

1. Take for example at 5pm any weekday afternoon when traffic is at its worst. There are no Metro Police Officials around to assist the public. I was told that they on a shift change. How convenient!

2. How about drivers just driving off at a red robot.

3. How about red robot cameras. They are always placed at non-taxi routes & intersections.

4. Speed-timing: Always in residential areas & main roads that lead into town like the M4, Northway & NMR Avenue. Never at Warwick Avenue, Alice Street, Beatrice Street, Soldiers way, etc as these are taxi routes. And who knows who the taxi owners are? Makes you think - doesn't it!

So the next time you park, carefully consider the situation & ensure that you don't become a SOFT TARGET.

Good Luck,
Durbanite.

Email from Tasmee, Monday 3 July 2006:

Maybe if our "seriously competent" police force were more interested in policing and enforcing the law instead of chasing revenue, we would have a safer country to live in!!

I am sure that the heat is on, now that the end of year coffers need to be filled for the year end functions!!

Where are the Metro police at the scene of an accident or crime???? Takes them a few hours to get there, because they are short staffed, yet they are not short staffed to go out on the streets and collect fines! Where are the Metro Police, even here in Gauteng on the highways and byways, where people are being murdered regularly, at least 5 attacks around the N1 in less than a month. A Cape Town journalist murdered when she stopped off on the highway! Pity for her there were no Metro Police then, to protect her, something she paid for......the right to be protected!

Metro Police Department..............what a joke!!!!!!!

Good luck to all of us citizens and tax payers of this country. On the other hand, if you dare to complain and "whinge", you can pack your bags and stuff off!!!! See if you can get a holiday in Dubai with friends and family, all paid for by the citizens of this WONDERFUL AND DEMOCRATIC SA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Email from Eddie, Monday 12 June 2006:

Our government and Metro are plain sh*t scared of our taxi industry. I challenge anyone to drive within the yellow lines, cut into a lane in front of another driver like the taxis do and see what happens. If the Metro don't get you another driver will curse and cut you off and if you do not land up in a fist fight you are lucky. Us motorists are just as much to blame! We let them cut us off and we let them into the traffic just before they are seen by Metro. It is time we stick together against them. I already know the comments here - I value my life and I don't want them to attack me, but then why curse and cut off the normal motorist - because he or she is on their own??? We must give them their own medicine back. Metro must hide in the bushes at Woodmead robots turn off towards Sunninghill, or down Woodmead drive near Kyalami, NO.... it is much easier and safer to catch us motorists speeding you lazy waste of tax payers money! Why don't the Metro sit in the bushes down old Pretoria road, it is very coincidental that I never see Metro along these roads, are they perhaps liaising with the taxi industry??? Do they get bonuses from the Taxi industry??? Carte Blanche should expose this syndicate.

Email from a Concerned South African, Wednesday 7 June 2006:

If everyone starts respecting the traffic laws, there won't be any complaints about traffic officers who treat people badly on our roads. I believe that traffic officers won't bother you if you stick to the rules and regulations. Speed does kill, irrespective of your car having all the available safety technologies, since even if you don't die the human being in the other car could die and you could be charged with murder. For the record, the speed traps are not only set in "white" areas, as one of the messages has pointed out. Traffic officers are every where, in "black" areas they set up road blocks and arrest traffic offenders. No one is above the law as far as traffic law is concerned.

Email from H. Venter, Monday 22 May 2006:

There are all these "excuses" for the lanes on the N1 in Centurion, being too narrow to allow 120km/h, etc. Why is it then that the speed limit on some secondary rural roads is also 120km/h? Those roads are almost always without a shoulder, the lanes are even narrower than the N1, and do not forget the potholes! The N1 is thankfully (still) in a good condition, and wider than the above-mentioned roads. I have to conclude it is about money. No prizes for guessing :-) And don't say it is noise control (another "excuse" I've heard), because many other highways are even closer to people's homes.

The fixed speed cameras on the N1 in Centurion cause more risk and traffic congestion than succeeding in helping in terms of speed enforcement, because many drivers speed along to the camera at 140km/h+, brake hard just before the camera to 80km/h or less (no "brownie points" for going slower than the speed limit!), and then accelerate again. In the best case it has a ripple effect on the traffic, and 1km back it grinds to a first-gear situation. In the worst case, the driver behind this prankster is not paying attention (or enjoys the new national sport of ignoring safe following distances), and slams into the car that is suddenly going 40% slower... Now imagine the traffic!

Lastly, it comes down to education, not enforcement. I've heard many people say that they see traffic fines as just another motoring expense, and that they pay it "with a smile" just to be able to drive as fast as they want to. Until South African drivers take responsibility, become less aggressive and more tolerant of other road users, these roads will continue to see the high accident rates, etc. In short, it is time South Africans drive more maturely.

Email from Rusty, Thursday 18 May 2006:

I just read some of the letters sent by people who think this site is wrong. Well I can assure them if the traffic department was doing there job by being visible and going after people who drive as if they own the place such as the taxi drivers, who have a law unto themselves, instead of hiding between bushes and bridges to fine people who just travel a bit faster, I for one may have more respect for them.

The only time you really get to see them is when you manage to spot one hiding behind a bush as if they are ashamed of their uniforms and indeed I would be if I was one. Where are the days when a robot out of order would immediately be manned by an officer when it was out of order, and that is another sore point - most of the time the darn things stay out of order for days. We have to dice with death and all they care about is collecting money on fines. Bribery is the top sport of the day. I suggest people drive around with a R100 note in their cabby, and when bribed hand it over. Make sure you took the serial number of the note then call the department to search that inspector on the spot. Sick to death of the Traffic department. So those who say this is site is uncalled for, you obviously have never been victim of the scam going on. They should use the thousands they collect in fines each day to improve the roads and robots, and get the motorcycle lot back on the road.

Heaven help you if you use Jan Smuts Avenue in Johannesburg in the mornings and evenings - you are lucky to arrive alive with the taxies doing as they please - they spit, shout and show fists at you if you refuse to let them cut corners.

Email from Ed, Thursday 18 May 2006:

Last year I had to go into Norwood for an interview. There were hawkers selling their "wares" across from where I had to go. A "HiAce" full of rooky metro police poured out of the vehicle books in hand ready to write up offenders. I was looking for parking but I couldn't find any, so I asked the one female officer whether it was OK to park under a tree near some dustbins. She said yes... When I returned there was a "pink one" on my windscreen - "PARKING ON A SIDEWALK". To make matters worse, I had parked on an "informal" ablution block - my tires full of ****. The public toilets near the hawkers were inhabited with their family members. Nothing was done by Metro police about this glaring health risk and illegal occupation of a public building, yet they trapped me and fined me R200 for this offence. As I was doing job interviews I do not have the R200 but I will be only so willing to pay Inspector Minnaar personally on the very spot. My reasoning is simple - if it is a sidewalk then why do people poo on it, and if they are allowed to park their poo on it, I should be allowed to park my car on it. Metro police staff have a long way to go, and if this is the way they treat the public the public will remain antagonistic towards them.

Email from "Yorkshireman", Tuesday 16 May 2006:

I do so love the phrase "Speed Kills". Look at the statistics on road deaths: 52% pedestrians, 36% buses and taxis - now deduct the unknown caused by un-roadworthy vehicles. What percentage is speed. Why aren't the traffic departments attacking jay walkers and kamikaze public transport drivers with the same intensity as the so called "speeders". DARE I SAY THE MAGIC WORD........MONEY.

Email from J Wainwright, Monday 15 May 2006:

Hi, from South Australia

I could not help seeing the debate whether this website is legal or not.

Just for your info, I came from JHB but now live in Adelaide South Australia, here the speed traps are marked in the street directory (permanent) and they are advertised after each news bulletin on the radio and each evening after the 6pm news - with the authorities approval.

They reckon they are intent on reducing speed and saving lives. Even if people reduce speed to go through cameras, they have still succeeded in reducing speed. Therefore if you get caught, you are in extreme trouble - lost license, suspended etc. Here it's 0 tolerance to speed

Something to wonder about is whether the authorities in SA are intent on reducing speed or making revenue????

Cheers

Email from an anonymous supporter, Monday 15 May 2006:

Good Day guys, eleven outa ten & a gold star for this website!

Traffic ordinance & laws are imperative in our country. Traffic cops are a must! (the right ones)

Ok! The real McCoy

Traffic law & the upholders there of (Traffers) seem to be mostly biased, racist & a law unto themselves ?

1. Why are they always speed trapping in white areas & suburbs?
2. Why are they ignoring the huge volume of un-roadworthy taxies & trucks on the road?
3. why do they ignore overloaded taxies & trucks?
4. why are they so intent on busting bikers & sports cars?
5. Why are our speed limits so ridiculously slow?
6.Why is it always assumed that speed kills?
Taxies & trucks cant go fast?
Don't accidents happen at lower speeds & don't people still die?
I had a low speed accident three hundred metres from my house & it cost me a broken collar bone & eight ribs?

Well I've covered all the Why's???. This is not about traffic safety & law!

There unfortunately is a ratio in everything & for 1000 cars on the road there will be x amount of deaths & damage, that's life. Naught - point - Zero percent of the population killed in road accidents is acceptable!

This is all about Making Easy Money for the ANC Government!

If our police force was as good as our Metro traffic cops, there wouldn't be any more violent crime!

Email from an anonymous supporter, Monday 15 May 2006:

I see your site made iol.co.za and the Chief of traffic or something stated that he does not give it his stamp of approval. WTF?

I read about a similar idea somewhere else in the world once and the authorities welcomed it by saying that they welcome ANY solution that might cause people to slow down. A hidden camera alone might not keep someone from speeding. A visible camera might help, but warning people beforehand will help even more. The guys hiding behind the bush or the hidden camera are doing NOTHING to stop the guys doing 160km/h on the highway. They are only there to issue fines and collect money. They don't care if he later caused a fatal accident or not! But if someone warned the guy or if he knew that he was being watched he would have stuck to the speed limit. The traffic department must wake up and realise what they're there for man! TO SAVE LIVES!!! It's not always the guy doing 135 in his hi-tech car causing accidents. But they don't do ANYTHING about the 1985 overloaded taxi with slick tyres and worn brakes doing 90 in the emergency lane now do they. Great site. I hope they don't give you *$#& and I hope they read this.

Email from Eddie, Sunday 14 May 2006:

This is the first time I have seen this site and basically I do not quite understand the motive for it. If we were all law abiding citizens we would not have a need for this at all. I will comment later regarding other aspects but I would like to point out one important issue regarding the speed on the Danie Joubert Freeway which starts where the N1 from Jhb joins the extension of the old R28 (now N14) just before the John Vorster off ramp heading north.

The reason for the 100km/h speed limit is quite simple for all those hypocrites who complain about the low speed where there are THREE lanes available. According to the SABS specifications, any lane on a freeway HAS to be of a certain width to accommodate a certain speed. For the Danie Joubert Freeway section each lane is 300mm narrower than the prescribed width to allow 120km/h speeds, resulting in the speed being lowered to 100km/h. SO that is the reason for the 100km/h limit and not because some traffic official decided to stuff everybody around. Please adhere to the speed limit in that area and you will not have to be concerned by the cameras.

Email from Johan, Saturday 13 May 2006:

I have been trapped by a speedtrap near Bredasdorp, driving a 250 Diesel Isuzu 1999 model. This is the model without any compensator or turbo. The measured speed according to the instrument was 128km/h. I received the fine by mail. Because I know what the vehicle is capable of, I suspect the instrument to be faulty. On the vehicle I had a load of radio equipment and test instruments of at least 500kgs. There was no mineshaft or downhill nearby. The manufacturer gives the top speed of the vehicle as 125km/h. Can you assist me in this matter?

Email from Shaun, Saturday 13 May 2006:

To add to the comments regarding the police using speed trapping to build their already vast budget, I think that if speeding was such a problem then the Government would pass a law stating that all vehicles, except police and emergency vehicles, should be governed to 120 km/h. Think of the advantages this would bring 'according to them'..... no road deaths, accidents, etc. BUT this would also mean NO MONEY FROM FINES! If they passed such a law it would further aid in the prevention of crime because how would a fleeing criminal get away at 120 from the police chasing at whatever speed. The immediate argument is that the criminals would probably steal emergency vehicles - but this problem can be resolved by the emergency vehicle having an electronic card which would over-ride the governor. This card could be activated for a period of time needed for the emergency, for example by a control room, so as to prevent the driver of a vehicle being abducted with the vehicle.

Email from "Frustrated Citizen", Thursday 11 May 2006:

Last year during the Easter season we avoided travelling because we were concerned about accidents, traffic, and the usual easter rush on the roads, so we decided to stay at home. We went out on Saturday evening and upon returning, on the M1 down through towards Lenasia, and the split between Johannesburg, Witbank & Bloemfontein/Kimberley, at 100 km/h a brick was thrown at our car, smashing the drivers side window, the car skidded and almost went off the highway, but the driver (my husband) managed to keep the car on the road.

In our scared, petrified state, we managed to continue driving without the window, the glass splinters flying everywhere, in our eyes, hair, clothes the works. We then took the 1st off ramp we could see, which was Johannesburg and drove straight through to Rideway at a relatives place. There was shattered glass everywhere and what was even more scary was the 4 other passengers we were carrying of which 2 were small kids, my nieces. We were scared and shaken up, the drivers door & roof of the car and once the driver opened the door to get out, it could not close properly again. We then headed off to the nearest Police Station, in Booysens.... what a second "traumatic", "nightmare" of an experience.....

The cops didn't know how to spell, didn't know which highway we were talking about, a pen that leaked, and one hell of a rude female police assistant, transferring the case number and our details to the case or filing log book. They finally got a team of cops to head off to the highway to check if the criminals were still there, my point is, EXACTLY WHICH highway did they go when they didn;t know what we were talking about? We even drew it on a piece of paper for them to Visualise it in their brains, but according to them, it was very bleak, they were thinking Pretoria, Nelspruit donno maybe they thought it was a Durban road cos we were indians, but up until today its still a phenomena to me!!!!!!!!

By the way, no one has ever phoned up for a follow up, caught suspects or criminals, nothing, zilch, z-e-r-o!!! When is this country and its government EVER going to change, we understand the concept of creating jobs, yada yada yada, but at least EDUCATE when you hand out important jobs like this, have a heart for citizens like us that have to go through this!!!!!

Email from Lionel, Thursday 11 May 2006:

A common and increasing occurance on freeways is passenger vehicles driving at very slow speeds which is just as dangerous as speeding and it's becoming a major cause of freeway accidents. Based on my own observations most of these vehicles have very dark tinted windows and if the driver can be seen. The minimum speed limit on freeways should be increased to at least 70km/h and applicable to the slow or extreme left lane only. Other lanes should be above 70km/h.

Email from Shikhar, Thursday 11 May 2006:

I think you guys have set up an excellent website. Now I have an idea as to where some of the speed traps are set. I used to travel on the M19 route to Pinetown almost every day and when it came to my vehicle licence renewal I couldn't get it because I had outstanding traffic fines which I was not aware of. Afer investigating I discovered that all of the fines were going to the wrong address :-)

Email from James, Thursday 11 May 2006:

Regarding Leon's email below. If the traffic fines were anything but a money maker, I would agree with you. Making money from people who do occasionally speed (within reason) and are otherwise law abiding citizens, is nonsense. How about metro start clamping down on the infinite number of hawkers & street vendors? It is the perfect cover for Hi-jackers and Smash & grabbers. (I could write a novel about this plague..) They are an infinitely bigger risk to public safety than someone doing 140 on the highway. If you hit one of them while obeying the law, your life is over. Rapings & jailtime all round. But, it is easier for Metro to bully and muscle in on honest citizens than it is to actually provide the service that our taxes (and speeding fines) are paying for.

Email from Warren, Wednesday 10 May 2006:

With regard to what Leon has written in the next "opinion". You know what Leon, speed in EXCESS is bad but if you drive 135km/h on a highway and get fined for it it's completely ridiculess and what about hijacking hotspots? Hijacking hotspots are also advertised on this site to WARN people Leon. To warn them!!!!

Email from Leon, Wednesday 10 May 2006:

How on earth can you be so irresponsible to put out something like this. Is thinking hard for you guys?

Speed control is part of safe traffic policing, as is combatting drunken driving or getting pedestrians off the highways. You are seriously harming one important aspect of traffic policing. It doesn't matter that you drive cars that you think have good brakes.

People who can't control how fast they travel on the road deserve to lose their licenses.

Email 1 from Brian, Wednesday 10 May 2006:

It's time for the licensing dept. to get its act together!

In this electronic age, and with a municipality that has been working hard to upgrade existing services, why is it that I am still forced to make a trip to the worst part of Jo'burg's city just to renew my car licence?!

Not only is the area dangerous, and one is constantly bothered by hawkers shoving number plates in one's face, but there is also no safe public parking in the area. Every year I'm concerned that my car could be stolen. How ironic that would be!

As I don't use a cheque book, such only alternative option is useless, not that I trust the postal system anyway. So here are 2 suggestions that hopefully can reach someone with intelligence and could then help many in a similar predicament:

1.) Have an online payment system, with a REGISTERED POST delivery of the licence itself. I would gladly pay extra for such service!

2.) Allow car licences to be processed at ALL traffic departments. This simply requires a networked computer system.

All we're asking for is a 1st world system....

Email 2 from Brian, Wednesday 10 May 2006:

Surely it's not too much to ask for the traffic department to produce a website option for online payments of traffic fines?!

Some of you may have noticed a question on this year's post office boxes renewal form (their survey) that asked if such a service would be desired. So some areas of authority are obviously aware of such a need.

As there is already now a facility with the municipality(ies?) to check for fines in your name, how hard would this service be to implement?

Email from Snowolf, Monday 1 May 2006:

I do not have a problem concerning speed but I do have a problem concerning the road worthiness of the cars on our roads today. Police are more concerned about my travelling 140 in a car fitted with ABS, high quality tires and enough safety features to make a cat dizzy but they have no problem with certain public transport travelling at 120 with bald tires, faulty brakes and wheel alignment that would make a crab jealous. Personally I would like to see a twice yearly roadworthiness test to be done on all vehicles. This would cut down on unsafe cars and reduce road accidents.

Email from Fergus (Designer, Speedtraps.co.za), Saturday 29 April 2006:

On Saturday evening, 29 April 2006, I was witness to a disturbing event that took place at two separate intersections along Jan Smuts Ave. in Johannesburg. On my way home from a friend, I proceeded to drive along Jan Smuts Ave. in the direction of Randburg. At the intersection of Jan Smuts and Conrad Drive I noticed many flashing lights and emergency vehicles. As I passed I noticed that there were casualties lying on the ground that were being attended to. The situation was intense but under control by emergency and police units. I however did not see any vehicles with damage, I assumed that there might have been but I did not see any. I continued on towards Randburg, of course concerned and in thought about the situation I had seen. As I approached the next intersection, Jans Smuts and Gordon Road, I noticed the flashing orange lights of tow away vehicles. I slowed down considerably as I approached. In the left hand lane 30 odd meters before the intersection a white Audi was stopped between two tow-away vehicles. There were emergency beacons placed in the road enclosing the scene and there were people standing on the far side of the vehicles. There were a few other vehicles parked in the near vicinity. I took a closer look as I passed around the right hand side of the scene and then stopped at the red traffic light. As I viewed the scene it appeared as though a man was being beaten up by a larger man. The larger man was picking this guy up using what looked like a “wrestling move”. People were just standing around watching. It was by no means a nice sight. I noticed that the front of the white Audi was damaged and I noticed damage on a Mazda 4x4 parked in the near vicinity. Of course not knowing exactly what had happened I thought it was serious Road Rage incident. I phoned 10111 and spoke to an operator and explained that a man was being beaten up at the corner of Jan Smuts and Gordon Road (Blairgowrie). The operator told me to phone Metro Police and wanted to give me Metros number. I told him: “No ways buddy! You phone Metro Police and tell them to get a car there now!!! He said okay and I said cheers.

I went home, as I had to feed my dogs. Once home I fed my dogs and then my brother arrived home. I told my brother of what I had seen and he insisted we go to see if everything is alright. We locked up the house and went to see what had happened. Upon arrival at the scene, we parked a fair distance away not wanting to get involved. Metro Police were now on the scene and things seemed to be under control. We viewed on and noticed that the front of the Audi was quite damaged including the windscreen, the windscreen wipers and the left hand rear view mirror. We began to assume that the person that had been driving the white Audi must have hit the pedestrians that were knocked down at the intersection of Jan Smuts and Conrad. It seemed that the people were crowding around a person on the far side of the Metro Ford Focus car. Suddenly a man came round from the far side of the Metro car and attempted to get into the damaged white Audi. It of course was the driver. He appeared to be completely drunk and uncertain of what he was doing. Some of the people standing around and the Metro cops then had to physically apprehend the guy and put hand cuffs on him as he began to struggle. They got him under control and then made him sit on the back seat of the Metro Car. My brother and I then drove a little closer to the scene and then made our way on foot to find out what had occurred.

Upon nearing I spoke to some bystanders and they confirmed that this man had knocked down three pedestrians at the intersection of Jan Smuts and Conrad, drove on and then caused a minor accident at this intersection. This was a hit and run incident caused by a severely drunk driver. The driver of the white Audi was saying out loud: "I've done nothing wrong, I've done nothing wrong". He had the typical signs of being drunk. I guess if he was being beaten up a little earlier when I passed by the scene it was for a good reason, but in the same vane road rage (which I can't confirm that this incident was or was not) is not on.

Drunk drivers kill people on a regular basis and this should not be tolerated. A man such as this one, knocks three pedestrians down, continues to drive, has another accident, then gets apprehended by the people involved in the accident, struggles to get back into his damaged car and then gets arrested and placed in a Metro Police car, is noticeably drunk and stills claims that he had done nothing wrong!!!!

This guy needs to be locked up so that we keep him off the South African roads – JUSTICE MUST BE DONE. Come on South Africa!!!!!

Email from "Gundog", 9 April 2006:

On the recent (April 06) broadcast of E-tv on smash and grab practices in Durban, and the police monitoring this with CCTV cameras, it was illuminating to note that at least two of the "smashers" went straight to the target vehicle while avoiding others on the way. It seemed that they knew exactly which vehicle to target. Also, these two smashers were not evident on the frames covering the actual incident and while the target vehicle was approaching the stop. It almost appeared as if these "smashers" had advance information. Could it be that there is an observation post back along the road?

The smashers certainly do not loiter about the immediate roadside and a team of three stands well back, as they do (or used to do) in Cape Town on Vanguard Drive.

Email from Lynda, 16 March 2006:

Yesterday I was involved in a pretty serious accident because some xxxxxxx had turned the traffic lights so that when I should have seen a red light, a green light told me to go. The accident occurred as I left Durban International Airport and had stopped at the lights on the roads leading to the Southern Freeway (northbound) (M4), the Outer Ring Road (Northbound) (N2) and the Umlazi Road. No actual names on the roadmaps.
There are more of these types of tampered-with traffic lights in the Springfield Park area of Durban too.

I hope this doesn't happen to anyone else.

Email from Brett, 12 March 2006:

I am complaining about the arrogance and unnecessary way in which I was treated by traffic police officers on Friday night, 10th March 2006 at 19:00. (Vehicle registration - xxxxxxxx Ford bakkie). I live in Sundowner, and as I left my house on Friday night, my fiancé and I saw a dog running round the street. We were worried the dog was going to be hit by a car, so we pulled over onto the right hand side of the road (Heading towards Beyers Naude drive on Honeydew - West St.) and tried to get the dog to get into our car, so we could take the dog home, and then to the SPCA in the morning. Unfortunately we were not able to catch the dog, so we got back into the car and were going to be on our way. As we got into the car the officers stopped right in front of my car. We thought they were stopping to try and help us, as we thought that they thought we had broken down, as I left my hazard lights flashing while we were looking for the dog. The officers both got out their vehicle and came round to my window, where they started interrogating me, and wanted to know why I stopped on the right hand side of the road. I tried to explain why we had pulled over, and they were not interested. They just kept telling me I should have pulled over on the left hand side of the road, which is not possible as there is no space on the left hand side of the road to pull off the road. They then told me I don't live here, which I then told them....actually I do, and was not doing anything wrong. I feel they were just trying to push their weight around, and portrayed a very poor example of what our law enforcement officers should be. I was totally disgusted by their arrogance and the unprofessional manner in which they handled the situation. It really is sad to know that this is the calibre of person we have trying to uphold the law on our roads....it is no wonder there is so much carnage and recklessness on the roads.