Every so often I have the “pleasure” of taking a drive down Hendrik Potgieter Road which runs through Featherbrooke, Ruimsig, Strubens Valley and Hillfox and every drive is filled with frustrations at the lack of law abiding drivers who use this road on a daily basis. In 5 years of driving this road I have yet to ever see the Joburg Metro Cops actually prosecute someone for a moving violation.
In just one drive on Hendrik Potgieter Road a week ago I witnessed over 40 moving violations just going one way and another 50 or so going back home. In both directions I never encountered one JHB Metro cop anywhere … not one in sight.The only time I have ever seen Joburg Metro Cops on Hendrik Potgieter is when they rock up, seven vehicles at a time and conduct random pullovers checking vehicles and drivers for licensing. This is always done on a section of the road where the officers can hide in the comfortable shade of some trees but almost every day you can drive on Hendrik Potgieter and seldom will you ever see a Joburg Metro Cop prosecute someone for a moving violation.
The types of moving violations I witnessed in just one day are as follows:
- Vehicles using the left hand emergency lane for overtaking
- Vehicles using right hand turning lanes for going straight
- Vehicles regarding a red traffic light as permission to keep driving through
- Taxi’s using left hand turning lanes as places to stop and alight passengers
- Sand & Stone Supplier Trucks dropping sand and stone all over the road
- Emergency lane used to pass large queues of vehicles who are all abiding by the law
These kinds of violations happen every minute of the day on this road and it leads to a great deal of frustration for those who choose to abide by the law and follow traffic signals and road markings. The problem is that one driver sets a bad example and 10 follow him thinking they also have permission to transgress the law and because of the total lack of presence of any Joburg Metro Cops these problems are now starting to spiral out of control and violating traffic signals and road markings seems to be something that everyone thinks is OK to do.
Just spend 30 minutes at 5 in the afternoon at the point where Hendrik Potgieter crosses the N14 highway. Here you will see at least 5 vehicles at every change of the traffic light using the right hand turning lane as permission to cut into the long queue of traffic moving straight. You could spend 2 hours at this traffic light during peak hours and you will not see a Joburg Metro cop doing anything about it. You may see one pass this intersection on his way elsewhere but you will NOT see him stop and deal with these people who transgress the law and cause a great deal of frustration for other law abiding citizens.
As far as the trucks owned by construction companies or sand & stone suppliers who constantly drop sand and stone all over the roads, this not only leads to frustration but actual damage to people’s vehicles. I’ve personally had two windscreens smashed on Hendrik Potgieter Road from stones thrown up by other vehicles and I can bet there are thousands of people a month who go through the same thing. These companies are getting off scott free and instead the vehicle owner has to pay an excess to his insurance company to get a new windscreen in his vehicle. If Joburg Metro were pulling these trucks off all day every day and issuing the company with a fine that HURTS we’ll quickly see an end to this kind of blatant disregard for our roads.
Many articles criticizing Joburg Metro have been written in the last 15 years but it seems they continue to do as they please and instead of dealing with moving violations (part of their job) they continue to choose the easy work to do, like sitting around in large groups where they can chat with their friends and pull over cars to check for licensing and to collect bribes. But actually asking them to patrol this road 24 hours a day and to set an example by prosecuting those who clearly transgress the law and set a bad example is asking too much of our public safety workers.
Related posts:
- Horrible Hendrik Potgieter (The Road)
- Keep Left Pass Right – The Most Basic MISUNDERSTOOD and UNUSED law of the road
- Some delayed in egg in the face of the World Cup – FIFA Chief Financial Officer Shot in Joburg
- What’s up with MIDRAND’s roads?
Anon
July 4, 2011 at 11:31 am
Here’s an article I found which relates back to 2007 where they concentrated on these offences but only up at Gordon Road. I drive this road daily and it’s insane at the level of offences taking place. The article below tries to shame the cops for doing something about it but you know as well as I do that these people who violate the road laws do so knowingly and do it daily. I agree the metro cops are lazy and if they spent their time prosecuting these offenders our roads would be a lot less frustrating to drive and it would make others think twice about transgressing the law. The Metro Cops would make much more money in fines dealing with moving violations than they do on speeding and license checks.
Here’s the article:
Metro Police getting strict
Post by gonedown on Nov 15, 2007, 7:16am
I say good for them – here the News24 report. The stupid woman who is cross because of what happened when she made a wrong turn could have taken one of us out or someone out!
I say that if this is ongoing – good!! Will make the roads safer for all!!!
Well done the Metro Police!!!
Drivers locked up
14/11/2007 23:29 – (SA)
Johannesburg – Traffic offenders were made to spend the day in police cells on Wednesday after being arrested for “minor” traffic offences.
Seventeen motorists were caught at the President Fouche Street-Malibongwe Drive intersection in Randburg, and another six at the intersection of Gordon and Hendrik Potgieter roads in Florida.
Those who were taken to Florida police station were freed late on Wednesday afternoon on bail of between R800 and R1 200, while others still were being detained at 20:00.
Johannesburg metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnaar said the motorists had been arrested for ignoring traffic signs and direction signs, turning where they weren’t supposed to and driving on the yellow-demarcated shoulders of the road.
‘Like a hardened criminal’
Stephanie Bentley, who had to have trauma counselling after her “nightmare day”, said she was dumbstruck when she heard at 07:00 on Wednesday morning that she was to be locked up for turning where she wasn’t supposed to.
“I’ve had one speeding ticket in my whole life and now I’m locked up for something minor like this as if I’m a hardened criminal,” she said.
She was released at 16:30 by Florida police.
A furious Jon Dare, whose fiancee Kirsty Nicholas had been locked up by Randburg police, said it was madness for motorists to be locked up on such minor charges.
“Taxi drivers hop across two traffic lanes at a time, without signalling, and nothing happens to them.
“Now, our loved ones are treated like animals for an innocent, minor mistake,” he said.
The father of another woman who was locked up added: “We had to feed them through the bars, like monkeys. They weren’t even given water, the whole day.”
He asked to remain anonymous.
Pralin Naidoo, who was arrested for making a wrong turn at a robot, said he was pulled out of his car and thrown into a police van.
Thought they were joking
Melanie Jansen, his friend who was left stranded at the robots, said she did not have a driver’s licence, but metro police continually ordered her to move the car, or it would be towed away.
“I thought they were joking with us,” she said at Randburg police cells.
Naidoo’s sister finally moved the car.
Police and family and friends drove some of the cars of those arrested to the police stations.
Lawyer Felix Majoni, who was at the police station to secure the release of his client, Flanagun Mapayaenda, said such arrests placed an unnecessary burden on South Africa’s justice system.
“You don’t have to have a law degree to know that you can’t just lock someone up for goodness knows how long for a minor traffic offence.
“There are murderers and rapists out there, and this is how they’re wasting the state’s resources.”
Zero-tolerance policy
Minnaar warned, however, that similar arrests could be expected on Johannesburg’s roads, on an ongoing basis.
“We’re making it clear that we’re adopting a policy of zero-tolerance for traffic offenders this festival season.”
He said every case would be heard on merit and the decision lay with the courts to fine offenders or jail them.
Those arrested were due to appear in the Roodepoort and Randburg magistrates courts on Thursday on charges of reckless, negligent, or inconsiderate driving.
MikeW
July 4, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Good on you for posting this. I drive this road daily and I pull my hair out in frustration at the utter disregard for the law.
Sally
July 4, 2011 at 1:21 pm
I live just off Hendrik Potgieter and it has become a total dog’s breakfast. I live 7km from work and it can take me sometimes 45 minutes or more just to get to work. Now I also see a new mall is going up across from the Christian Centre and the road cannot even handle the traffic its got now. There’s a lot more wrong with Hendrik Potgieter than just moving violations and I hope to see you blog more about it. The entire JHB Metro, not just the cops, are utterly useless.