Question

I witnessed an accident in which one of the drivers did not stop. This morning at about 7:20. Corner Fairtrees and De Villiers in Durbanville. Took the number plate of the driver that drove off (the party who caused the accident from my viewpoint). What should I do with this information?

Answer

Feel free to send the details to me and I will forward to the police.

There is a duty to stop as indicated below in section 61 of the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act 93 of 1996) and it should be followed up.

Please supply your details too as you will be needed to give a statement and also evidence in court should that be the outcome.

61.   Duty of driver in event of accident

(1)  The driver of a vehicle on a public road at the time when such vehicle is involved in or contributes to any accident in which any other person is killed or injured or suffers damage in respect of any property or animal shall*
(a)
immediately stop the vehicle;
(b)
ascertain the nature and extent of any injury sustained by any person;
(c)
if a person is injured, render such assistance to the injured person as he or she may be capable of rendering;
(d)
ascertain the nature and extent of any damage sustained;
(e)
if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his or her name and address, the name and address of the owner of the vehicle driven by him or her and, in the case of a motor vehicle, the registration or similar mark thereof; ( f ) if he or she has not already furnished the information referred to in paragraph (e) to a traffic officer at the scene of the accident, and unless he or she is incapable of doing so by reason of injuries sustained by him or her in the accident, as soon as is reasonably practicable, and in any case within 24 hours after the occurrence of such accident, report the accident to any police officer at a police station or at any office set aside by a competent authority for use by a traffic officer, and there produce his or her driving licence and furnish his or her identity number and such information as is referred to in that paragraph; and
(g)
not, except on the instructions of or when administered by a medical practitioner in the case of injury or shock, take any intoxicating liquor or drug having a narcotic effect unless he or she has complied with the provisions of paragraph ( f ), where it is his or her duty to do so, and has been examined by a medical practitioner if such examination is required by a traffic officer.
(2)  No person shall remove any vehicle involved in an accident in which another person is killed or injured from the position in which it came to rest, until such removal has been authorised by a traffic officer, except when such accident causes complete obstruction of the roadway of a public road, in which event the vehicle involved may, without such authority and after its position has been clearly marked on the surface of the roadway by the person moving it, be moved sufficiently to allow the passage of traffic.
(3)  Subject to subsection (2), no person shall remove a vehicle involved in an accident from the scene of such accident, except for the purpose of sufficiently allowing the passage of traffic, without the permission of the owner, driver or operator of such vehicle or a person who may lawfully take possession of such vehicle.
(4)  In any prosecution for a contravention of any provision of this section it shall be presumed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, that the accused was aware of the fact that the accident had occurred, and that he or she did not report the accident or furnish the information as required by subsection (1) ( f ).
(5)  In this section the word *animal* means any bovine animal, horse, ass, mule, sheep, goat, pig, ostrich or dog.

Question

Is a learners or drivers licence required for a two wheeler off road motorbike?

Answer

You will still need the license if you drive on a public road

Question

What happens to a director of a private company should he be found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. Are they forced to resign?

Answer

This is a matter for labour law and company law and might also depend on the internal company policy. It is unlikely that he will be forced to resign. Would be better to take this up with the legal experts in company law.

Question

I live in a residential area that comprises several townhouse complexes. I walk my dogs every afternoon and have to cross a 3-way stop street to get to the park. No-one stops at the stop street, and most drivers do not even slow down. Thankfully the traffic department had speed bumps erected on the road, and we thought it would be safer to walk our animals. The drivers now slow down for the bumps but speed up, over the stop street, to make up lost time. I stop at the stop street, make sure that no cars are close and then run across with my dogs. But have almost been hit 3 times by cars that speed as they near the stop sign. There are no pedestrian crossings in this area so I can only cross this extremely busy road at the stop. I would like to know what the legislation is regarding this, as no one seems to be sure. I have enquired about this at my local traffic department, and got several different answers. What is my right as a pedestrian at a 3-way stop.

Answer

A 3-Way Stop sign is a STOP sign. The rules applicable to stopping are the same as for a Stop sign. The only difference is the sequence in which drivers must move off from the Stop line.

Road sign R1 - STOP sign (Per the Road Traffic Act)
Indicates to the driver of a vehicle that he or she shall stop his or her vehicle with its front end in line with such sign, or if stop line RTM1  is used in conjunction with such sign, immediately behind such stop line, and that such driver shall not proceed until it is safe to do so.

Road sign R1.3 - 3-Way STOP sign (Per the Road Traffic Act)
Indicates to the driver of a vehicle approaching a 3-way stop sign, that he or she shall act as for stop sign R1, and he or she shall not proceed into the junction, until every vehicle which has stopped at any other stop line at such junction before him or her and which would, in the normal course of events, cross the path of such driver's vehicle, has cleared the junction.

Official K53 Driving Test requirement - Intersections: Stop signs
At a 3-way or 4-way stop, yield to pedestrians and vehicles that arrived at the intersection before you.


In plain English...
•    Vehicles must STOP at a 3-way stop. It is a STOP sign.
•    The 3 or 4 supplementary plate means that vehicles must move off only after all other vehicles and pedestrians that arrived at the Stop line before them have moved off. (i.e. move off in the sequence in which they arrived)
•    Vehicles may move off only when it is safe to do so - i.e. no vehicles or pedestrians still crossing in the intersection.

Question

We are visiting Skukuza in August and then travelling down to Margate. Which route is the best way to travel. Via Swaziland and if so time it will take, or via the N3? Thank you.

Answer

The National Routes are usually the safest!!

Question

Can a learner driver drive alone in town?

Answer

No! He may not!

Question

My car was stolen recently and I'm thinking of commuting to work with either a bicycle or a scooter( Vuka type). Which of the two , statistically, has a higher chance of being hit by a car? ( Personally I feel safer on a bicycle)

Answer

We do not have the stats for this. Will also depend on the area where you drive. View both cycling safety and motorbike safety on the website

Question

In Pretoria there is a lot of traffic circles, what is the rule? Who can drive first? The first person that gets there?

Answer

This link should answer the question   Driving around Traffic Circle / Roundabout

Question

When I did my licence there was a requirement to park less than 150mm from the kerb when parallel parking. Is this still the case or what is the current rule?

Answer

The distance is 450 mm, not 150 mm. If you are not parked within a demarcated parking bay or parking area, you may not park with the kerbside wheels more than 450 mm into the roadway, unless permitted by a road sign.

Question

To whom it may concern: I would like to know exactly what the law is regarding warning triangles on vehicles. I will appreciate it if you can tell me the different laws for triangles for motorcars, trucks and motorcycles and vehicles that are towing other vehicles. Many thanks Kind regards Jana Mans

Answer

 JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said all vehicles registered after July 1 2007, must carry at least one emergency warning triangle sign in terms of Regulation 214 (2) (a) of the National Road Traffic Act.

Motorists without a triangle in their car could be fined R500, he said.

The only vehicles excluded from this regulation were ambulances, cars registered before July 1 2006, motorcycles, motor tricycles and motor quadricycles.

Minnaar said goods vehicles, minibuses and buses first registered before July 1 2007, will not be allowed on a public road without at least one emergency triangle sign.

"Prior to July 1 2007, only goods vehicles such as trucks, buses and minibuses were required to carry the sign, but now it applies to everybody due to the changed legislation for safety reasons," said Minnaar.