Vehicle impounded

In the latest incident Traffic Officers impounded a vehicle for no apparent legal reason and issued the driver with a R2 500 fine.

They also left the driver of the vehicle to fend for him afterwards – leaving him with no choice but to to hike from Doornkop to town as he was on his way to work with a lift club.

The Traffic Officers allegedly accused Ben Skhosana of operating an illegal transport service; they neither refused to listen to his pleas of innocence nor allowed him an opportunity to explain the situation.

“And I suspect the taxi owners are behind all of this,” said Skhosana.

His vehicle was stopped at a roadblock just outside Doornkop in what appeared to be a routine operation.

But Skhosana said vehicles carrying more than one passenger were pulled over and many of the drivers accused of operating a private taxi.

“I travel to work daily with a co-worker and another person who also works close-by. It’s a lift club,” he said.

But Traffic Officers did not agree and Skhosana’s white VW Jetta was immediately impounded and would only be released upon payment of a R2 500 fine.

For the rest of the week Skhosana was late for work and it was only after getting a loan from a friend that he was able to pay the fine.

He now has his car back but feels hard done by, calling the entire incident unnecessary and the traffic officers unreasonable.

The Director of Public Safety, Mr Ahmed Seedat, said that it was an unfortunate incident and after hearing Skhosana’s side of the story stated that there was probably a misunderstanding.

“The technicality comes in with collection of money or payment to the driver. In terms of a lift club it is a contribution towards the petrol costs and should not be referred to as a payment,” he said.

Mr Seedat said that he would seek a full description of the incident from the Traffic Department and thereafter have it reviewed, and see if anything can be done to reverse the fine if it is found that it was indeed not applicable in this case.

On Friday, 7 March, a final decision was to be made, said Mr Seedat.

yaseen@mobserver.co.za