This South African city will now make you pay for crashing into a robot

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) will in the near future start penalising motorists who damage traffic signals, even if it wasn’t deliberate.

The city confirmed to TopAuto that the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) in partnership with the city’s metro police (JMPD) and insurance companies will henceforth obtain accident reports where traffic signal equipment or any other roads infrastructure such as guard rails have been damaged at the accident scene.

They will then mark relevant infrastructure damaged and record the driver’s details, and the JRA’s insurers will subsequently lodge a third-party claim from the complicit driver found at the scene.

The JRA said that a motorist does not have to reside in Johannesburg to be panelised. As long as their details are collected, they will be held responsible for damages to the infrastructure.

“The JRA will pursue the claim from them or their insurance companies,” said the CoJ’s Acting Head of Mobility and Freight, Sipho Nhlapo.

“Currently the JRA receives claims from motorists for damages to their vehicles due to the potholes. The JRA has processed claims from people residing in and out of Johannesburg who have incurred damages to their vehicles while driving on our roads.”

The process is currently still at early stages as the finer details are ironed out.

“Once all the departments are ready, the JRA will notify road users of these implications,” said Nhlapo.

Joburg waging war

The City of Johannesburg is quietly waging war against the rampant vandalism and theft of traffic signals across the metro.

The JRA currently controls a sizeable network of 2,023 signalized intersections including over 16,000 poles, 100,000 LED bulbs, and 2,023 controller boxes.

Of these, the entity currently faces over 360 cases of vandalism and theft, with new incidents reported daily. Damage ranges from cut poles to cable removal and vehicle accidents.

Perhaps more alarmingly, of the 1,400 Uninterruptible Power Supply units which are intended to keep important signals operational during grid outages, fewer than 15 remain operational.

“Solar panels have faced similar challenges, prompting the JRA to explore alternative solutions such as compact battery packs,” said the JRA.

The backlog of repairs due to theft, vandalism, and accidents exceeds R70 million, placing significant strain on the entity’s maintenance budget.

The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport last year revealed that it costs anywhere between R900,000 and an astounding R1.5 million to replace just one broken or stolen traffic signal.