Drivers might soon be subjected to what have been called a ‘horrific’ law.
This was brought to the attention of the Record by the watchdog of all matters relating to traffic law, Justice Project South Africa (JPSA).
“We are horrified to learn that it is being reported that “government is in talks to soon introduce a system where Metro Police officers can randomly stop motorists and retest their driving,” said JPSA national chairperson Howard Dembovsky.
“Whomever came up with this nonsensical notion should be fired immediately, before they get the opportunity to further facilitate corruption. Firstly, very few traffic officers, let alone Metro Police men or women are qualified driving licence examiners and secondly, randomised retesting is not the solution to the widespread systemic corruption in the issuing of driving licenses,” the fiery Dembovsky continued.
He said South Africa has known about the widespread systemic corruption in the issuing of driving licenses since it was revealed that more than 50 per cent of the driving licenses issued between 1998 and 2002 were “defective” when it was announced by the Special Investigative Unit, yet nothing proactive has been done to tackle this known problem.
“Contrary to the claim made by the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s (RTMC) CEO Advocate Makhosini Msibi, the National Road Traffic Act does not empower any traffic officer to retest any person at random at the roadside, especially if they are not a qualified driving licence examiner.
“The most obvious solution to the problem of so-called “defective” driving licenses is to require mandatory re-testing of drivers on renewal of their driving licenses every five years, but in order for this to be feasible, corruption must be eradicated,” said Dembovsky.
He concluded by saying should the Department of Transport and their State Owned Corporations decide to proceed with this “ridiculous, corruption-enabling idea, JPSA will not hesitate to stand in its way and do everything possible to prevent this illegal practice from proceeding.”
