Concerns that new JMPD pointsmen are directing cars at traffic lights that are working

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) on Monday appointed 200 pointsmen to help alleviate traffic, but the public has already raised concerns.

Joburg’s citizens have taken to social media to ask two questions:

• Why are some of them not wearing uniform?; and
• Why are the pointsmen conducting traffic even in intersections where the traffic lights are working?

Identifying authorised pointsmen

JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla says all legal pointsmen are easily identifiable with their unique uniforms. Any person conducting traffic while not wearing uniform should be reported to the authorities.

“They wear blue shirts with reflective jackets that have Johannesburg Metro Police Department written on it, and they also have white gloves and caps with the city’s crest on it,” said Fihla.

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For years, Johannesburg has been plagued by unauthorised people directing traffic by unauthorised people. The JMPD previously said it will be putting measures in place to prevent this.

“It is one of our biggest challenges because of safety issues and legalities,” said Fihla.

The JMPD spokesperson said the deployment of the official pointsmen to busy intersections is one of the department’s strategies to get unofficial pointsmen off the road.

“With them being deployed, high risk intersections will be covered. But we still have some intersections not covered as yet, which is why our officers have been tasked to arrest whoever is not authorised to be there.”

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Addressing concerns that the pointsmen continue with their duties at intersections that have traffic lights that work, Fihla said they do this to ease congestion.

Without addressing the safety concerns that this creates, Fihla said the traffic controllers are unable to access the switches to turn the traffic lights off.

“Due to the high rate of vandalism of these controllers, the Johannesburg Road Agency has put in tamper-proof security around those boxes which only they have access to,” he said.

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