Need traffic officers on the roads to police drivers
TALBOT Cox’s letter regarding disregard for road rules (“Appalled by disregard for road rules”, February 12) highlights the fact that he, like many others, including the politicians tasked with these issues, offers advice without knowing what effective road safety and traffic policing is all about nor do he and the others know the legislation and the rights of road users.
When the coalition took over in Nelson Mandela Bay in 2016 one of its main concerns should have been to drastically increase the number of staff and get the traffic department running effectively, but it chose not to.
Instead it focussed on the costly metro police, which so far seems to be used mainly in the northern areas, probably, I suspect, for political reasons to gain votes, and satisfy the need for power and certain people’s egos.
The metro police are overlapping the work of the SAPS (and also the traffic officials) using ratepayers’ money to fund it, including the costly electronic systems that go with it.
Each also has its separate management structure, also extra costs.
Effective traffic policing does not consist mainly of roadblocks, although they do serve a purpose from time to time.
Similarly camera speed traps are also not working, except for generating income rather than addressing road safety.
Only manned speed traps should be used where tickets are issued on the spot by traffic officials.
Traffic officials in unmarked and marked vehicles on the road throughout the city 24 hours a day is the answer, and ticketing motorists for the “moving offences” which are the main cause, after drunk driving, of a vast majority of motor accidents.
Similarly, national road safety is only attended to during a few holidays in the year using mainly roadblocks.
Why not throughout the year?
Fred Rogers, Port Elizabeth
I TOTALLY agree with the two letters in The Herald on Monday and would like to add my feelings to those expressed in the letters.
We, the rule-abiding public who stay within the speed limit and who have to live with every car passing us, are the ones who, if they go 1km/h or 2km/h over the speed limit, get the fines!
Where is the fairness in all this, when all the offenders never get caught or pay their fines.
It is high time we had more traffic officers roaming the streets to control these offenders.
Where are all the bikes that were used for the army, navy and air exercise they held in Port Elizabeth?
S J M, Humewood, Port Elizabeth
MAYOR Athol Trollip, does NMBM have any traffic officers?
They are very, very rarely seen on our city roads.
The major calamity, where they should be daily on duty, during the peak hours of 6.30am to 8.30am and from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, is at the corner of Durban Road and Cottrell Street, in the vicinity of the Mercantile Hospital.
The public transport system (taxis) are a law unto themselves and have no respect for the rules of the road.
Please do something positive to alleviate the utter confusion in that area to prevent any disastrous misfortunes happening.
Let’s get sanity back.
Concerned citizen, Malabar, Port Elizabeth