Warning over homeless traffic directors in South Africa’s biggest city

Insurance companies may not pay out for car accidents resulting from drivers following the instructions of homeless traffic directors.

Homeless people are a common sight in South Africa’s major cities, and many have taken up unofficial roles as traffic directors at intersections in recent years.

This phenomenon grew significantly during load-shedding, as many individuals took it upon themselves to assist with clearing traffic at intersections where the robots were out.

Grateful motorists often tip these impromptu traffic organizers for their assistance, but this has unfortunately created an incentive for homeless people and vagrants to ensure that the traffic lights stay offline in busy areas.

This is particularly prevalent in Gauteng, as the City of Johannesburg frequently has to repair sabotaged and vandalised traffic signals.

In many cases, the wiring in the robots has been stolen to be sold for scrap, but there have also been several instances where people have intentionally tampered with the robot controller boxes to keep the lights off, ensuring they still have a way to earn tips.

The authorities and road safety experts have also issued warnings about homeless people directing traffic.

The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department and other law enforcement agencies have stated on numerous occasions that only qualified officers are allowed to conduct traffic.

This is outlined in the National Road Traffic Act, which says that only trained and authorised peace officers in uniform can legally direct traffic.

If an accident occurs while you are following the instructions of a homeless traffic director, the City of Johannesburg will not be held liable.

Additionally, many insurance companies may refuse to cover the damages, saying that motorists cannot claim “the homeless man told me to go” as a legal defence for a collision.

This varies between insurance companies, however, as larger firms like OUTsurance and King Price may still cover these accidents if the driver can show they exercised due care.

This means that if a vagrant at an intersection with broken traffic lights signals the driver to go, they must treat it like a four-way stop and check all directions before proceeding.

So many traffic lights are broken that South Africa is switching to stop signs

Traffic light theft and vandalism have become so common in South Africa that several metros have had to replace the robots at certain intersections with stop signs.

Earlier this month, Freedom Front Plus councillor Wesley Jacobs announced that traffic lights have been decommissioned at an intersection in Centurion, Gauteng.

He said that it had become too costly to maintain the robots due to the constant theft of city infrastructure.

The City of Johannesburg previously stated that it has at least 400 non-functioning traffic signals around the metro.

Most of these sites have had their wiring stolen for scrap, while others have been vandalized or damaged in car accidents.

Joburg spendss approximately R12 billion per year on traffic light repairs and replacements, and that one intersection has been vandalized 14 times.

Similarly, the City of Ekurhuleni has spent over R120 million repairing robots over the course of a single financial year, and has called it quits on several intersections.