The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) has announced new measures to crack down on unroadworthy vehicles within its jurisdiction.
Going forward, officers conducting roadblocks in the Joburg metropolitan will “discontinue” vehicles on the road if they are found to have three or more “defects.”
The act of discontinuing a motor vehicle involves the removal and destruction of its licence disc or roadworthy certificate disc, and the issuing of a notice directing that the motor vehicle shall not be operated on a public road with conditions included surrounding the circumstances under which it may be operated on a public road again.
The JMPD said defects count as, among others, the following:
- Worn-out out tyres
- Cracked windscreen
- Non-functioning indicators
- Leaking engine oil and rear brakes
It warned that “compliance is not negotiable” and officers will not hesitate to apply these strict measures.
Unroadworthy vehicles are a big problem in South Africa. Naamsa the Automotive Business Council estimates that as much as 7.5% of the approximately 13 million passenger vehicles on the country’s roads are here illegally with many of them in a dilapidated state.
Furthermore, the Department of Transport (DoT) revealed that approximately 10% of all vehicles registered in South Africa are unroadworthy with an average age of 11 years.
Not only do these illegal and unroadworthy cars put licensed road users’ lives in danger and use valuable resources when causing accidents, but they also cost the country about R8 billion per year in forgone licensing revenue.
More to come
To crack down on the scourge of illegal vehicles and tackle the growing culture of lawlessness on the nation’s roads, the Department of Transport (DoT) said it aims to implement a 24/7 shift schedule for all traffic police departments in the country come March 2025.
Delivering his inaugural address as the new Deputy Minister of Transport, Mkhuleko Hlengwa committed to removing unnecessary red tape that has hamstrung the implementation of round-the-clock visible traffic policing.
“This administration will speed up the resolution of all issues that have delayed the implementation of a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, and 365-days-a-year campaign visible traffic law enforcement across the country especially in highly accident-prone zones on our road network,” said Hlengwa.
At present, the Western Cape and the National Traffic Police are the only authorities that have instated a 24/7 shift system in South Africa.
“It is crucial that all provinces fast track their processes to obtain approval for the implementation of the shift system to ensure visibility of officers on the road daily and at all hours,” said the deputy minister.
“The DoT will monitor and ensure the introduction of the new shift system by 31 March 2025.”
Hlengwa states more visible policing will unquestionably contribute to improved road safety and a reduction in car crashes and fatalities.
In 2014, approximately 40 people died on the roads every day and around 184 sustained serious injuries. A decade later, these figures have dropped to 34 and 157, respectively, despite a larger population and total vehicle parc.
Likewise, road deaths fell from 12,554 in 2020 to 11,883 in 2023.
“This is attributed to increasing visibility of traffic officers,” said Hlengwa.
Additionally, 24/7 policing is expected to reduce the number of non-roadworthy vehicles clogging up the country’s roads every day.
Join the discussion