Traffic police blitz yields good results

THE city traffic service and metro police department arrested 122 people, impounded 82 vehicles and issued 2 523 fines over the past weekend.

Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said suspects were arrested for various transgressions, including driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless and negligent driving, outstanding warrants, and possession of dangerous weapons, among others.

Officers also impounded 14 minibus and 68 sedan taxis during operations along Nelson Mandela Boulevard, in the CBD, Sea Point and the V&A Waterfront. “We have been engaging the Western Cape government for the past decade to pass new legislation to ensure that we can do effective enforcement around taxi behaviour, as the current legislation makes it almost impossible for enforcement agencies to be effective,” said Smith.

“Even though we write thousands of fines every month it has little impact on their behaviour. The only viable solution is to start impounding minibus taxis for traffic violations, and the new provincial traffic legislation which will be passed in the upcoming months will do precisely that. This is testimony to the doggedness with which we have pursued finding an effective solution for this problem.” |