Professionalism and traffic officials/ enforcement

Question

I fully support traffic enforcement, but I also believe that speeding raod users are not the only reason for accidents. I am living in Mpumalanga and have been caught speeding twice in the last week. Once outside Graskop and once outside Sabie. In both cases the normal speedzone goes from 120km/h to 60km/h, but in both cases the grass along the roads are not cut which makes the speed signs not as prominent as I suppose they should be. When I pointed this out to the staff they said it is not their duty to cut the grass. I agree, but I am arguing that they must tell whoever is supposed to cut the crass to do so as in both cases the grass is right next to the road and even if a pedestrian comes from behind the grass a motor car will only see this person when it is too late. Secondly I think that going from 120 to 60 should surely be give a certain distance. If I had the distance I would be able to understand why I was caught so quickly while still going slower. Thirdly I would like to know wheter or not these traffic staff are supposed top wear reflective clothing while manning these equipment. At some stage our local traffic head was on the front page of a newspaper claiming that these officers should indeed wear these jackets, but whenever this is raised with them they just laugh. Lastly I would like to know whether it is appropriate for staff to talk about a victim in a language he does not understand. This morning one of the staff changed to Siswati when speaking to the person that was issuing my ticket. I then retaliated by changing to Afrikaans and you can just imagine how "sour" this whole incident then turned. They claim they were not discussing me, but how will I know that for a fact???? Please assist me. I am not a speedsster in general and have only collected about 10 tickets in my 24 years behid the wheel of various vehichles. I do think, however, that when I am caught in a speedtrap there are certain criteria that this speedtrap and its human operators must adhere to in order to make it "free and fair", but as consumer I do not have this info Please assist

Answer

Thank you for raising the issues. Firstly, let me deal with the speeding. Speed is a huge contributory factor in accidents. A speed may be high for the prevailing circumstances and that may cause an accident.
Secondly, you are quiet correct in that according to the prescripts, the lowering of the speed restriction has certain standards to be followed. If the speed restriction is 120 km/h, then the next sign of 100 km/h should be about 200 meters away, then 80 km/h the next 200 meters, and so on. Should this not be in place, then you may make a representation to the prosecutor in the magisterial district.

The officers are bound to report the tall grass next to the road especially if such grass obscures signs and may be a source of danger to the road users. With respect to the wearing of reflective jackets, the officers should wear these so that they may be visible, however it is not a must if the conditions do not necessitate the wearing of reflective jackets. Officers should wear full uniform, a cap, badge, name tag when stopping motorists.

Please give me more details about the officers who stopped you, for instance for which authority are they working (either Mpumalanga Province or Sabie Local Authority). As soon as I receive the info, I will be in a position to follow up. 

I hope this will assist you.  

Senior Executive Manager: Road Traffic Law Enforcement & Education
Road Traffic Management Corporation