Traffic Fines
Traffic fines are the bane of every motorist and a major revenue source for Municipalities. Joburg alone makes approximately R70 million a month in Traffic Fine revenue.
The majority of traffic fines are issued for speeding over the limit for that particular stretch of road with the remaining few being issued for parking and other offences such as unroadworthy vehicles, not stopping at stop signs, reckless driving, driving without a licence, not wearing a seatbelt etc. It is rare though to get a ticket for any of these other offences besides speeding as they are not as lucrative for the Traffic Department to pursue.
Issuing speeding fines is in contrast extremely easy and profitable for the traffic department. They merely have to set up the equipment in a comfortale place and clock the money rolling in, with one machine able to generate hundreds of thousands of rands in revenue per day. To put it in perspective, the JMPD only has approximately 22 traffic cameras yet they manage to generate R70 million rands in revenue per month which makes for R106 000 per camera per day.
How Traffic Fines are issued
The Traffic department sets up the SME (speed measuring equipment) which can either be a mobile or fixed camera. Fixed cameras normally work with lines on the road which measure the time it takes for the vehicle to travel the distance between the lines, the speed is then calculated and if it is over the limit a picture is taken immediately. There is a 10km/h grace to allow for errors.
Mobile SME’s are either radar or laser based with radar being graudally phased out and being replaced by laser. These units project a beam onto the car which calculates the cars speed, the driver is then either flagged down by the office or a picture is taken and the notice sent to the owner of the vehicle.
When the notice is received the owner has the option of paying the fine or contesting it. With the new system there is a 50% discount for paying the fine within 32 days of notice.
If a person wants to contest the fine then there are many issues that can be tackled but we suggest getting the Traffic Fines Toolkit in order to understand how to go about it. It is widely known that when a fine is contested, 80% of the time it is cancelled or withdrawn due to the difficulty involved for the Traffic Department adhering to the correct guidelines for use of the SME.
For more information on how to pay fines see this page:
