Western Cape uses tech to nab repeat traffic offenders

Traffic officials in the Western Cape say they will be deploying new technology this festive season to identify and sanction habitual traffic offenders.

The provincial Department of Transport launched its festive traffic safety plan in Brackenfell, to coincide with the graduation of 99 new traffic officers.

Acting Deputy Director Vigie Chetty says they will apply a zero tolerance to drunken driving, use of cellphones while driving, speeding and reckless and negligent driving.

Chetty says data for repeat offenders will have been gathered over an 18-month period.

“What we’ve started is a programme called the habitual traffic transgressor program specifically aiming to identify through a collection of data over an 18-month period. We pick up behaviour of repetitive drivers that are contravening, be it our speed cameras, through other type of traffic offences, so basically the data that has been collected will create an alert system through a handheld device which our traffic officers are privy to see throughout the province.”

Meanwhile, taxi organisations in the province have committed to do their bit in an attempt to stop road fatalities this festive season.

They were part of the launch of the provincial traffic safety plan during the festive season. SANTACO provincial Chairperson Mandla Hermanus says they will not tolerate drivers who rush to get more trips.

“We will also take action by ensuring that when they leave our ranks, we will do vehicle checks. We will write down when vehicles leave so that if a vehicle leaves today, that very same vehicle cannot be loading in Cape Town again the following day, because it would mean that the driver dropped off and drove back without resting.”

Taxi associations smoke peace pipe

Taxi associations Cata and Codeta in the Western Cape have issued an apology to commuters for violent taxi wars that led to the loss of several lives as a result of their impasse over the B-97 route.

The protracted taxi violence led to more than 80 people being shot and killed from 2020 to 2021. In July 2021, Mobility Minister in the Western Cape Daylin Mitchell invoked his powers in terms of section 91 of the National Land Transport Act (Act no.5 of 2009) to close the route.

Mitchell declared the route open again and handed over operating licences to the associations.

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