Question

I was pulled off and issued a speed fine for exceeding 60km/hr (76km/hr) for R250 at Witriver / Sabie road. A lot of errors are on the written fine. Address, Employers name, vehicle name, Date and month of Trial. Heard that this is not acceptable. Can i email or fax to you? Regards

Answer

Only a court of law can withdraw any fine if errors are written on affine. I suggest that you go to the court mentioned on your fine, with a written submission and await the response from the court.

Question

Does the officer issuing a speeding ticket have to put his force number on the ticket?

Answer

It is not a prerequisite. A officer can write is /her force number if he/she wishes do so.

Question

If stopped in a roadblock, what is the allowed procedures that a traffic officer may do. For instance may he check under the bonnet of your car, or is he allowed to climb into your car without a warrant to state that he may do so. If you could be so kind as to tell me what is allowed in a roadblock or where i can find the rules of one, i would appreciate it.

Answer

Section 11(c) and (e)  of the NRTA (National Road Traffic Act) gives the officer the authority to stop any vehicle, check under the bonnet of a vehicle and sit in the vehicle for the mechanical check of the interior and drive any vehicle to test its roadworthy status. Further if he believes there is other aspects that warrants him to search impound the vehicle to a SAPS facility other than mechanical defects here the Criminal Procedure Act gives the traffic officer the powers to do so.

Question

When indicating to do a lane change either left or right, what are the rules for traffic approaching from the rear in the intended lane...I was stuc behind a vehicle intending to turn right and hence wanted to turn into the left lane. I waited for quite some time for the traffic to clear in the left lane, and did all my neccesary checks. When I subesequntly started my lane change, a car in my blind spot on the left lane sped up wich ended in a collision

Answer

There are no rules that apply to the driver who is not changing lanes. The onus is on the driver who wishes to change lanes to do so only if and when it is safe to change lanes.

The correct procedure for lane changing is as follows:

• Before signalling, first check in the mirrors and the blind spot to see if it is going to be safe to signal for a lane change.
• If it is safe, then signal to the appropriate side. Do not sugnal until it is safe to change lanes.
• Check in the appropriate blind spot again.
• If it is still safe to change lanes, steer into the next lane.
• Cancel the signal.
• The last check is always in the blind spot, before executing the manoeuvre.

Nevertheless, common road courtesy and safe driving practice would be not to speed past a driver who has been indicating for some time that he intends changing lanes. However, there is no rule as such that governs common courtesy and good driving sense.The last check to be done before changing lanes is to check in the blind spot before steeing into the next lane. This is a requirement of the K53 driving test.

 

Question

Are the trafic police allowed to turn the camera around to trap the other lane when they are in the middle of a high-way for instance ? Are they allowed to trap you from behind ?

Answer

In this instance I presume you are referring to a Laser hand-held speed machine. This machine is attached to a tripod and allows the machine to revolve 360 degrees.
In this case a motorist speed can be checked from the front , rear and the driver is stopped and is offered the privilege to view his speed on the machine.

Question

My question refers to sign R306-P Limited Parking Reservation Sign. This sign when it appears means that one may park there for the period as indicated. In this case 60 minutes. Does this sign automatically means that one needs to pay, to park at that specific location or should there be a sign informing one to pay?

Answer

If there is a time limit with that sign that simply means you may park there for that duration. When your time is up you must move off. If you don't, you can be fined for parking longer than the duration allowed.

Question

Hi. our story first.. my son was stoped in a roadblock for dui they book him took his blood and he paid the bail. the next day he went to court and the date was moved to February all this happen in Port Elizabeth, any way we went to the the state attorney and told him my son is gooing to join the french foreign legion and we need to pay the quilty fine he told us no we must come back for the blood results. ok before my son went to the legion we went back to the state attorney and told him that the date for court is after the date for joining and we want to pay the quilty fine, he said he cannot help us. he said if my sons not there they will put out a warrant for arrest. after my son left I went back to the state attorney and told him my son left because he need to work on his future. and Iam there to pay the quilty fine. he said no my son need to be there I told him he already left and is it posssible to move the court date until I hear from my son again, they could not help me and said they going to put out a warrant for his arrest. I afraid now that if my sons going to come and visit they will arest him. My son know what he did was wrong and he wanted to pay the quilty fine but PE didnt want to help us.

Answer

The State Attorney decides on these issues and has the final say. In this instance the State Attorney is correct, the results of the blood to determine if your son was over the legal limit or not can only be decided once the results are made available by the State laboratory in Pretoria. This should be a learning curve – drinking and driving can ruin your career because these records are held the offender and it is protocol for any legion, company or state to undertake a criminal clearance record prior to employment.

Question

I was recently trapped on a road with no speed limit sign displayed. The traffic cops said it was a built up area. My question is this - surely a speed restriction sign is a must to issue a fine?

Answer

From this vague paragraph I presume that the offence committed was in an urban area. The learner’s licence book clearly states that that the speed limit in an urban area is 60 kmh. Authorities post up speed restriction signs at the entrances to the urban area therefore a speed restriction sign is not required at every turn or every road.

Question

1) Which traffic departments are doing there learner testing via computers? 2) When will learner testing via computers be implemented in the Eastern Cape? Thanks so much & keep up the good work!!!

Answer

According to the Ministers Budget Vote, There are a 21 centres in KZN, 2 in GP and 2 in MP.

Please note that this computerised learner’s licence testing is not linked to the eNaTIS.

The eNaTIS computerised learner’s licence testing has been scheduled for piloting at certain driving licence testing centres within the next two months. No specific dates or sites has been mentioned for the Eastern Cape.

Question

I have family in South Africa and the question was raised recently, of what to do when it really is essential that a person has their Driver's Licence withdrawn. What are the formal steps that need to be taken?

Answer

Section 25 of the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 determines that the MEC can withdraw a licence.

You must contact the Provincial Department of Transport of the province in which the person lives who will take the necessary steps to withdraw the licence.