You can receive discounts of up to 50% on your traffic fine if you pay the penalty within a certain amount of time after it was issued.
Generally speaking the cut-off point is around 30 days, though it can vary by municipality.
For instance, in the City of Tshwane and City of Johannesburg where the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act is in effect, motorists are given 32 days to pay and receive a 50% discount.
“Where applicable, discounts of up to 50% are offered on traffic fines,” said Fines SA, a company that facilitates the payments of fines for over 250 municipalities in South Africa.
“The discount percentage is determined by the value of the fine, the status of the fine, the municipality it falls under, the date of the offence, and the date of payment.”
Should you fail to pay a fine, you could face serious repercussions ranging from late payment penalties and licence suspension, to legal action and imprisonment.
Disputing traffic fines
If you’re convinced that you were fined for a transgression you did not commit, you can dispute the penalty at the relevant municipality.
Additionally, a fine must be valid to be enforceable, meaning there must have been no error from the issuing authorities’ side when it handed over the punishment.
When it comes to speeding fines, perhaps what most motorists are shacked up with, the four main areas of concern for a fine to be considered valid are the equipment, the operator, the distance at which the fine was captured, and the contents of the fine.
As per Conlon Law, all speed-measuring, distance-measuring, and time interval-measuring equipment must be calibrated at least once a year by an accredited laboratory.
In the event that the calibration period has expired, the equipment must be calibrated before it may be used for prosecution purposes.
“In order to determine whether an instrument has been calibrated, a calibration certificate must accompany the speeding camera or device (at all times),” said Conlon Law.
“This certificate will take the form of a document with the serial number of the device, the date of the calibration, and the accredited laboratory’s details.”
This information is also found on the device itself, often in the form of sticker attached to the hand-held speeding camera, which indicates the corresponding serial number, date of calibration, and in some cases the date of the next calibration.
“In the event that the serial number on the calibration sticker (on the speeding camera) does not correspond with the serial number on the calibration certificate, the speeding may be invalid,” said Conlon Law.
“Similarly if the date of the last calibration is more than twelve months prior to date of the incident, the fine will also be declared invalid.”
In a similar vein, operators of speed-measuring equipment must have attended and passed a course on speed measurement, and if applicable, traffic light monitoring.
They must also be in possession of an operator’s certificate/licence that prove they have succesfully completed the course for the specific type of device being used.
“As a result, in the event of being stopped, a driver may request a copy of the operator’s certificate, in order to determine whether the operator of the speeding camera has the necessary qualifications to operate the device,” said Conlon Law.
“Should the operator not have a certificate or licence, the fine may be declared invalid. The same principle applies to a person driving without a licence.”
It’s necessary to point out that the operator who took the speeding measurement must be the person in possession of the certificate.
It can happen that one traffic officer may be in possession of the certificate or licence, while the other takes the necessary readings.
“In the event that the operator of the speeding camera does not have an operator’s certificate with him, the fine may be declared invalid,” said Conlon Law.
“It is important to know that these are your rights in terms of the National Road Traffic Act, and as such you are fully entitled to view the aforementioned calibration certificate as well as operator’s certificate on request, and same cannot be withheld from you.”
Another important factor when determining if a speeding fine is valid is the distance from where the measurement was taken, in relation to the commencement of a speed limit zone.
In South Africa, no fine may be prosecuted where the speed measurement was taken within 300 metres of the commencement of the speed limit zone.
“Put plainly, if your recorded speed was taken less than 300 metres from the speed limit sign, indicating the change in speed zones, no prosecution may be instituted,” said Conlon Law.
“Similarly, the speed measurement cannot be taken more than 500 metres from the incident.”
In other words, traffic police and fixed cameras may only start trapping after 300 metres from the speed limit sign, but may not take any measurements further away than 500 metres.
Should these distances not be respected, no prosecution may be instituted in respect of that measurement.
When operators select a site from which to take speed measurements, they must also have a clear and uninterrupted view of the road and the vehicle for the duration of the measurement.
“This means that where vehicles are overtaking each other and a measurement is taken during the changeover, the fine may be declared invalid,” said Conlon Law.
Where fixed cameras are utilised, the photograph/image must at least record the following for the fine to be prosecutable:
- Date of the offence
- Time of the offence
- Speed measured
- The location code
- No obstructions must be apparent
- Where sensor lines are installed, a view of the whole width of the traffic lane covered by the sensor lines
- At least two photographs/images indicating the position of the vehicle of the offender, with a clear image of the number plate
If no image accompanies a fine, the receiver can request a copy of the relevant photograph/image which must be supplied free of charge.
Lastly, a notice of offence under Section 341 of the Criminal Procedure Act must be generated and sent to the alleged infringer within 30 days of the date of the alleged infringement/incident.
“If it is generated on the 31st day, it is unlawful and must be withdrawn without argument,” concluded Conlon Law.
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