Attorney Michael de Broglio on: South Africa, Law, Politics, Attorneys, Sport, Photography, Technology, Gadgets, Media, Crime, Road Accidents Fund,
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In a country with such a high death toll on our roads, and so many vehicles which are not roadworthy, I notice that the traffic police spend their time checking licence discs on William Nicol Drive. I have no problem with licences being checked, but sometimes it gets a little bit extreme – on one day last week I had my licence checked twice, once on Cedar Road and once on William Nicol Dive and that was after having being checked the day before on Malibongwe. It could just be that it is the end of the year, but this is a busy stretch of road in wealthy areas, and the cars travelling along the road are in a relatively good condition and let’s face it, there are very few serious accidents along those roads.
Why more time is not focused on more rural areas or areas where there are higher accident rates, I don’t know – or perhaps we do, because this appears to be all about revenue, but this is sadly just a short-term approach. On a long-term basis the country loses far more, as does the Road Accident Fund, every time somebody is killed or injured in an accident and concentrating your traffic officials on the same stretch of road checking somebody’s licence disc three times in two days and quite often four or five times a week really does not help much with anything other than generating revenue.
Posted by Michael de Broglio on Monday 10-Dec-12
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Comments
Cherise said:
on Wednesday 16-Jan-13 02:22 PM
The amount of police that were in the most unnecossory places over the festive of season was a joke , on small roads in areas like Fairlands , that is a residential area with hardly even any traffic during the mornings and evens.
that is a waste of time when yes they could be on busy main roads where people drive reckless because they know theres no police there.
Sarah said:
on Friday 14-Dec-12 09:11 AM
I agree with David it is that time of the year where metro police wants bribes. By now we should all be used to the road blocks with no route or system at this time of year.
Lourien said:
on Friday 14-Dec-12 08:28 AM
Checking licensing disk won’t help at all, as they can be obtained easily. They are being bought almost every day, I think its not that people are driving reckless but rather that the majority has never learned to drive properly and that they don’t know the rules of the road …
liesl said:
on Thursday 13-Dec-12 09:05 AM
I personally think they should concentrate on wreckless drivers which we encounter on a daily basis driving to and from work. Sure it is a good thing to check licence disks but its not the licence disks that cause accidents
Tans said:
on Wednesday 12-Dec-12 04:57 AM
Funny enough when you see an accident or a traffic light that is not working (a very common occurrence these days), you hardly ever see a metro cop. But now with Christmas bonuses at stake, suddenly you see so many roadblocks to check drivers' licenses - seems like an easy option and, to be frank, a lazy one.
Robyn said:
on Tuesday 11-Dec-12 06:20 AM
Juliet makes a good point. They're clever that way. We all wish they were clever in other ways but hey, like Julie also said, we should be used to this. And on the other hands it's very sad that we SHOULD be used to this. We shouldn't be taking things like this lightly but we do.
moenisha said:
on Monday 10-Dec-12 04:37 PM
I don't know anything about the traffic on William Nicol I can only just imagine , but i do agree these petty checks are ridiculous.
They should be checking all the unroadworthy taxis who cause so many deaths on the roads
Juliet said:
on Monday 10-Dec-12 03:48 PM
Willliam Nicol is a revenue generator, you yourself have 2 billboards there for advertizing and getting new business, plus the Nicolway Shopping Centre where the restaurants are busy every night. It's an ideal place to make money, and the police know this.
julie said:
on Monday 10-Dec-12 03:08 PM
I am batting both ways here - yes, it's a good idea to check certain things, but DAMN, they are not applying any logic to their actions. They would pull you over on a corner with traffic coming around that corner and having to swerve or brake furiously to avoid bumping into you, they pick peak time traffic which already is painfully hectic to have road blocks... And of course, it is Christmas season - they take more bribes during this period than during the rest of the year. No system, no logic, no surprise - we should be used to this...
Simone said:
on Monday 10-Dec-12 03:07 PM
I have noticed that there are way more road blocks and traffic cops in Johannesburg than in Cape Town. I have never been pulled over, but I have noticed sooo many road blocks, especially this time of year in JHB.
I agree with the fact that it is great to be checking licence disks and driver's licence's, but it holds up so much traffic and you end up sitting in the road block for close to an hour.
david said:
on Monday 10-Dec-12 07:38 AM
the metro police have no interest in ensuring the safe flow of traffic, or saving lives. their only interest is generating revenue, and taking bribes. they are a bunch of crooks.
Johannesburg based attorney specializing in personal injury matters including Road Accident Fund claims and medical negligence matters. My interests include golf, reading and the internet and the way it is constantly developing. I have a passion for life and a desire for less stress!
