GALLERY: Beggar in a ball
CRESTA – If a motorist should accidentally hit a beggar at a traffic intersection, who is to blame? The motorist, the beggar, or JMPD?
As a motorist, you may have noticed one particular beggar operating at the corner of Weltevreden Road and Valley Lane outside Cresta Shopping Centre. He kneels in the middle of the road, between two lanes of traffic, covered in a blanket, sometimes rolling himself up in such a tight ball that his head touches the tarmac. At dawn and dusk, during peak traffic hours, when he is most busy begging, he is all but invisible to passing motorists.
Spokesperson for the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA), Layton Beard, confirms that begging at traffic intersections is against the law. But the issue of exactly who is to blame in the event of an accident between a motorist and a beggar on the road, is a grey area. “Although the National Road Traffic Act prohibits a pedestrian from endangering themselves or other road users, each incident has its own merits and the Law of Collision places stricter burdens on the relevant parties in these particular incidences. Therefore we cannot say with certainty which party is liable. It depends on the facts of each incident.”
Spokesperson for Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar, acknowledged that it is the responsibility of the JMPD to remove beggars, street traders, and window-washers from intersections, and although the JMPD does carry out regular raids, they cannot have officers on every street corner all the time.
“The JMPD’s Bylaw Management Unit will be deployed to remove this man in Cresta, as he poses a serious safety risk, not only to himself, but motorists as well,” said Minnaar. “The Department of Social Services will be brought in to assist by taking the man to a shelter.”
“Be alert, aware, and vigilant at all times,” said Beard. “If you happen to have a car accident involving one of these beggars, pull over, take photographs, and get the contact details of any eye witnesses. This will help prove that there was no malicious intent in your actions. And report the incident to the nearest police station.”
Details: Automobile Association of South Africa aasa@aasa.co.za; 011 799 1000.
