Can JMPD curb the lawlessness on our roads?

Residents are horrified at the number of gruesome – and often fatal – accidents that happened since the start of the new year.

Most of these accidents were caused by reckless driving, high speed and total disregard for traffic rules.The biggest culprits seem to be the taxi drivers who appear to be above the law. They make their own traffic rules such as driving straight ahead in a turn-only lane (cutting in front of other motorists), stopping without warning – sometimes in the middle of the road – to drop off or pick up passengers, and displaying a general disregard for the lives of their passengers and other road users.

A resident of Roodepoort, Ciska Janse van Rensburg posted on Facebook about an incident involving a minibus taxi on 6 February. She was travelling on Wilgerood Road and was almost involved in an accident. “We all know – and some accept it – that taxis will turn into Wilgerood Road (from Christiaan de Wet Road) from your left, while everyone else is patiently waiting their turn. This happened to me yesterday. A taxi was waiting to turn left. When he saw an oncoming car from Ontdekkers Road preventing him to complete the turn, he turned right in front of me (from the right-hand lane) and almost took off my car’s nose. My little son had such a fright! I wish Metro would come and man the intersection and fine all the drivers doing this. It is such a dangerous intersection and many accidents occur there,” she said.

Some of the Record’s loyal readers also took to social media to express their frustration. Here are some of their comments:

Christa de Jager Viljoen said, “There is no need for new rules, rather more visible traffic officers that [enforce the law] when the motorists don’t stop at stop signs and just race through red traffic lights. The offenders need to be pulled over and fined accordingly. Every day I drive on the same roads and see traffic officers at the traffic lights, just standing there and watching the vehicles race past. The motorists that can cross at the light, need to wait until the offenders pass the red light before they can cross the green light.”

Sunette Morkel said, “I think that if – and this is a big if – we can get the taxis under control the majority of the road problems will be solved and road deaths will decrease. They have no respect for the rules or other drivers, they do what they want and most of them don’t even have a driver’s licence or Public Driver’s Permit (PDP). You might get one here and there that goes by the rules but unfortunately they just don’t care. It will also be helpful if more traffic [law] enforcement was done on the road to control reckless and drunk drivers.”

Leanne Dewar felt that JMPD officers should not be exempt from traffic laws and lead by example. She said, “It would be helpful if the traffic department enforced the rules of the road when they see them being broken. It would also be nice if they would set an example. I see traffic officials driving while talking on their phones, some don’t wear seat belts, some don’t use their indicators. It’s just wrong. I’ve also seen via social media and heard about nightmare experiences of some people who get pulled over because the traffic department want to strong-arm people or extract bribes instead of issuing a ticket or arresting the person in a civil manner. I think it’s time for a clean-up in the traffic department so that they can get rid of the bad apples and get back to basics: enforce the rules of the road in a civilised manner.”

This led to the following question: What will the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) do to decrease these incidents?

Will the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety, councillor Michael Sun implement a plan that will enable the JMPD officers to eradicate this behaviour on our roads? Will they be able to implement this plan and mete out appropriate punishment?

The Record contacted the MMC’s department for comment, and was assured that they would revert back with an action plan as soon as possible. There will be an update once this plan has been received.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.

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