If you're responsible for any of nearly 8 000 traffic offences in Makana for which drivers have ignored summonses, watch out, because thanks to new technology being introduced on Makana's roads, you'll be arrested, "no questions asked”.
That's the warning from traffic department head Coenraad Hanekom, who announced the new vehicle-scanning technology as the shocking figures emerged in a recent Council meeting.
If you're responsible for any of nearly 8 000 traffic offences in Makana for which drivers have ignored summonses, watch out, because thanks to new technology being introduced on Makana's roads, you'll be arrested, "no questions asked”.
That's the warning from traffic department head Coenraad Hanekom, who announced the new vehicle-scanning technology as the shocking figures emerged in a recent Council meeting.
The Makana traffic department has 7 617 outstanding warrants – worth at least R2 million – a number that's increasing by the day, councillors learnt at a recent social services portfolio committee meeting. A warrant of arrest for contempt of court is issued when an offender both ignores the initial court summons and fails to pay an admission-of-guilt fine and of those defaulters, 5 646 are for people living outside Makana's borders. Given the department's small workforce, it's very unlikely they'll ever be called to account.
The problem, say traffic officials, is that the majority of offences are committed by out-of-town visitors or students – and the South African Police Service, the only law-enforcement body whose jurisdiction extends beyond the municipality, no longer serves warrants.
"This is a huge problem, as all students and offenders who reside outside of the borders cannot be reached," read the report to the portfolio committee. The department is also constrained by staff shortages – posts have remained unfilled after several resignations. The report states that the traffic department has a staff of eight traffic officers who would qualify to serve warrants within its borders. However, these officers have a great number of other duties and don't have the time to serve warrants.
The report added that there was a huge influx of out-of-town drivers during festivals and conferences, and a great number of students and drivers with foreign registration numbers who were not on the vehicle population register, therefore making it very difficult to trace them.
While Hanekom expressed doubt that the SAPS would change their policy to accommodate the municipality's need for extra capacity in issuing warrants, he said plans were in place to make it easier for officers to catch defaulting drivers.
Hanekom told Grocott's Mail that a private company was setting up a system whereby a camera, connected to a laptop, would be set up alongside the road. When a vehicle with a registration corresponding to one of the warrants drove past, the camera, constantly scanning, would register it. An alarm signal would alert the officer and the vehicle would be stopped.
According to the report, this method is already in use to some extent, with officers at roadblocks tracing offenders entering ID numbers or vehicle registrations on laptops. The difference is the new method incorporates a sound-alert.
Officers also commonly radio in to headquarters, when they stop vehicles, to check whether a driver has any outstanding warrants.
Clerks can also check for outstanding warrants when people go to the traffic department to pay their fines and Hanekom urged drivers who weren't sure whether they had outstanding fines to contact the traffic department and, if necessary, make arrangements with the department to pay them.
He warned, however, that if a driver was stopped and it was discovered he had a warrant in his name, “He will be arrested, no questions asked”.
How bad are the students… really?
Grocott's Mail spoke to a few students on condition of anonymity. Several admitted to not having paid their fines, but were in no way feeling the heat, because the traffic department hadn't followed up with them.
One student said he'd got a R700 fine for riding a scooter with an invalid licence. He hadn't paid and missed his court date – but the traffic department hadn't followed up on anything. He said he would go to the legal aid board to seek help.
A student fined R700 in February for driving without a license didn't feel it even warranted comment and didn't seem bothered by the prospect of being arrested.
Another student fined R700 earlier this year, also caught driving without a license this year, said, “I did not have my license on me at the time, although I am a valid driver.
"I was given a R700 fine and produced my license to the traffic department the next day… I then wrote a letter to the department explaining that I could not afford the fine as a student and asked for it to be reduced.
"They did not reduce the fine and I did not pay for it and then missed my court date.”
