The proliferation of car guards and street vendors directing traffic during rolling blackouts is a serious concern, and traffic authorities must do more to ensure the proper flow of traffic during times when traffic lights are not functioning.
Untrained ‘pointsmen’ who direct traffic – particularly at busy intersections – could be responsible for more harm than good and should be discouraged from this practice.
While the intention is noble, and in many cases traffic does flow, it only takes one serious crash to realise the folly of this endeavour.
And, because the ‘pointsmen’ are not legally authorised to perform this duty, there is no legal recourse should something go wrong/
Motorists have no choice but to comply with the directions given in such circumstances because all drivers are following the instructions.
It is impossible for one motorist to ignore these instructions; this would cause chaos when other drivers are complying.
This situation requires urgent intervention by traffic authorities who, in many cases, are simply nowhere to be seen when traffic lights go down.
Rolling blackout schedules are widely available, and traffic authorities must do more to deploy personnel to those areas which carry the most traffic, specifically at peak traffic times.
What we see, however, is that private sector pointsmen are dispatched to certain areas, but other, busier intersections are ignored.
This creates a vacuum for ‘Good Samaritans’ to step in, which can lead to problems, especially if reckless drivers ignore their signals because they believe the unofficial pointsmen have no legal authority to be there.
In 2019, a government-appointed task team – the Traffic Law Enforcement Review Committee – found that the country requires double the number of traffic officials than what it currently has, and the lack of traffic law enforcers during rolling blackouts emphasises that need.
AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AFRICA
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