Traffic body not so fine after all

It is not surprising that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) – the body responsible for making our roads safe – has tried to explain, and back away from, a clearly illegal threat it made against drivers this week.

A statement it issued advised “all motorists to check if they have any outstanding traffic fines before embarking on their festive journeys”.

It went on to say traffic officers were “being deployed on all major routes and those found with outstanding traffic fines will not be allowed to proceed”.

That is illegal, as was pointed out by Justice Project SA, whose chair, Howard Dembovsky, noted that “a traffic fine is not a warrant of arrest and should not be regarded as one”.

When The Citizen queried this, RTMC spokesman Simon Zwane “explained” that “we were referring to the fines that have reached the stage where a warrant has been issued”.

The problem is that the incorrectly worded statement might encourage traffic officers to break the law, according to Dembovsky.

It is disturbing that a government body responsible for law enforcement should be so imprecise in how it says it should be enforced.

It is no wonder there is so little respect for the law – especially on our roads.

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