The Tshwane metro police have given thousands of city motorists their final warning: pay your traffic fines or go to jail.
The warning, in the form of a massive city-wide operation, was given on Monday as members of the law enforcement agency's tracing unit began their search for the thousands of city motorists who have 77 000 outstanding warrants of arrest out in their names.
The warrants, which amount to R23,1-million, are for a variety of traffic offences including speeding and parking fines. This amount (for the warrants) excludes the money owed for the original fines.
Monday's operations saw police arresting 15 motorists who had hundreds of warrants of arrest against their names.
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Tshwane metro police spokesperson Mel Vosloo said that they had had enough of errant motorists who blatantly ignored their traffic fines.
"We are telling people for the final time that if they have unpaid fines they had better pay them or else face going to jail," he said.
Vosloo said the operation, which was hoping to reduce the number of warrants of arrest to a few hundred within the next two months, would see police going to homes and businesses as well as conducting roadblocks in an attempt to catch errant motorists.
He said Monday's worst offender was the owner of a city pre-primary school who had 20 outstanding warrants of arrest in his name which dated back to 2003.
Vosloo said the fines included parking and speeding fines.
Commander of the Metro Police Tracing Unit Gert van der Merwe said they were determined to catch every single motorist who had a warrant of arrest in his or her name.
"We want people to know that we are no longer going tolerate people ignoring traffic fines. We are going to hunt you down and catch you and dragging you kicking and screaming to jail if needs be," he said.
He said that some of those who were on the unit's target list were fleet company owners such as a Johannesburg businessman who had a 230 warrants of arrest in his name.
"Just because people own businesses like fleet companies does not mean that they are immune from prosecution. If they insist on breaking the law then they - like every other criminal - will be prosecuted," said Van der Merwe.
Wynand van Vuuren, whose company assists motorists paying fines, said they were approached by at least 150 people a month.
"Since the first warning issued by the Metro Police last month business has picked up. It is really amazing how many people owe money for traffic fines," he said while paying a fine for Pretoria panel van fleet company.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of Pretoria News on November 07, 2006
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