Speed traps 'not just for money'

2009-12-18 17:41

Michael Hamlyn

Cape Town - It is not true, says Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele, that the purpose of road traffic enforcement is for income generation or incentives for traffic officers. 

"It is to promote compliance with the road traffic rules and regulations," the minister said in a written reply to Inkatha Freedom Party member Peter Smith. 

"By penalising errant road users, there can be greater awareness of compliance, thereby reducing offences, crashes and casualties."
 
Smith asked with a straight face whether municipalities focus on speed transgressions whilst minimising other traffic violations, and whether the reason for this has to do with the income stream to municipalities and corresponding incentives to traffic officers.

He also asked Ndebele to give a breakdown of the revenue earned by every municipality through speed fines relative to other traffic violations. But that was a bridge too far for the minister. 

"There are more than two hundred municipal traffic departments in the country and the RTMC (Road Traffic Management Corporation) does not have access to information in respect of the revenue earned by each municipality through speed fines and other traffic violations," he replied.

However,  he did admit that with the latest technology available, speed timing operations are a quick, inexpensive and effective method of making a high impact on compliance, though he insisted it was not done at the expense of other traffic offences.  

"According to the National Rolling Enforcement Plan," he said, "which we admit has not cascaded to all municipal traffic departments, emphasis is placed on vehicle and driver fitness and other moving offences as well."

- I-Net Bridge (News24)