@Roger. U will be the first to squeel if ur cellphone is crushed, when making some urgent arragements.... NO OFFENCE BRO. But I don`t agree with the texting ether. Yesterday I saw a traffic officer BBMing on the N2, and not looking at the road and driving 100km...

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They should crush the cellphone and give the remains back to the owner, then nobody can complain about theft, I commute with a motorcycle and it's alarming to notice how many people are texting while driving, it take a split second for disaster.

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Theft? JUST DO IT ey?

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Please, roll this legislation out to the rest of the country and DO IT - I have had enough of reckless drivers busy texting or talking on their phones while driving in Durban. Who cares about "invasion of privacy" - if you are going to cause an accident or get someone else killed cos you are too cheap to install a handsfree kit, or better yet, make use of the bluetooth function ALREADY present in your vehicle, then face the consequences of your actions. How any intelligent person can even try defend this is totally beyond me. I spent R500 to buy a handsfree kit for my previous car, and my current car has a blutooth system built in - just had enough of reckless and arrogant drivers talking and texting while driving. Their behaviour is completely not okay - and as a society we need to start frowning on such behaviour - social pressure can sometimes be very effective.

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Taking my property without a court order amounts to THEFT. Plain and very simple in the eyes of the law. But alas, I live in a kleptocracy! JP Smith must realise that most of his by laws,such as dog leashes, graffiti and razor-wire etc are wholly unconstitutional. JP Smith, please go shove those bylaws where the sun doesn't shine, I do not recognize them, they do not pertain to me as a tax-paying citizen, and please go back to fixing my potholes and taking away my recycling you little tyrant wannabe.

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I do agree that is a stupid offense and should be delt with in the best way possible, but taking someones mobile is a invasion of privacy, when and how does such offender get their mobile back, where does the authorities keep these personal possession etc???? Eventually these mobiles will circulate into the crime circles, your privacy will be leaked out and will just create one more reason in SA for people to do crime, is this not so? However, if you get a fine, lets say R1500, that would hurt more, it would be something that you would have to pay eventually, before renewing your license and it would enable authorities to deal with in a much more swift way and no invasion of privacy would have to be feared etc.. This situation does not have to be delt with in this way, the only reason why is a lack of creativity! I agree, individuals, talking on the mobiles, even texting, while driving are idiots and should be taught a valuable and expensive lesson, because if they cant pull off the road or wait 10 min to their destination to handle their business, then surely they put everybody else's life at risk. However, even if the go with the mobile idea, it's easy replaceable, a fine we all know, you cant get out of, unless things in SA has changed regarding this procedure. Well good luck with this guys and I hope you find a conclusive way to deal with this. In Dubai, it is not even debatable and everybody is guilty of that and they drive very bad, while speeding, while on the mobile. Stop this before it gets out of hand as with everything in life when not handled! Good Luck!!!

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Talkin on your cellphone is dangerous but what I have noticed over the past year is that texting while driving has escalated alarmingly and that to me is far worse that talking on your fone becasue people actually take their eyes off the road while doing it. Social networking is partly to blame and the rest is just down to blatant disregard for the law, your safety and the safety of other road users

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in Stellenbosch the traffic police drive around with their seat belts on. everday after work there is a cop lady driving home with her two small kids standing on the front seat. They park in loading zones and now they want to take away our cellphones but they dont even know what the law is or is it that they are greater than the law.

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How about running an awarenes campaign? Billboards to remind people not to talk or text while driving? This solution is the same as going around to schools and handing out condoms and birth-control pills to reduce teenage pregnancy. It just doesn't work and won't work. The solution is to get drivers to know that they must not use the cell phone while driving because it is dangerous. The other question is what happens to the cell-phone when it is confiscated and how are the going to compensate for "stealing" the driver's property? It is really sad to think that in this day and age, some people think that they have a right to take somebody's property.

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They must give all the Insurance Companies a view to the database as some people will claim for confiscates phones. This way insurance companies can keep track.

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"JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for safety and security, said motorists using cellphones was the biggest problem on Cape Town’s roads." Is this an exxageration or is this meant to convey the truth? Cape Town drivers are simply pathetic. They do not understand the concept of drive left and pass right, with every idiot rushing towards the right lane and then sitting there while everyone overtakes them to the left. Then you have taxi drivers, especially in the townships who do not see rules of the roads applying to them. Perhaps JP Smith mistakes Cape Town with the areas where mainly rich white folks live? Because where I live, the biggest visible problem is people not adhering to the simple rules of the roads, selfish driving and taxi drivers jumping robots. Also, there seems to be no differentiation between those who hold the phone in their hands and the ones using bluetooth. While the level of distraction is the same (some people cannot drive a talk), those without bluetooth tend to have less reaction time as one hand is tied up on the phone and consequently, many end up driving very slow as a precaution. This, however, inconveniences everyone behind them

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What's next, confiscating your car for a traffic offense? Is this the DA's answer to everything, trample all over constitutional rights. Up the fines for using a cell phone, even if they make it R1 000 per offence, doubling it for each subsequent offense. At R4 000 for the 3rd offence, no one will ever again use a cell phone whilst driving. However, confiscating property is the beginning of Government dictatorship and cannot be condoned. The DA have proved once again they are incapable of intelligent thought. Like open air designer toilets nog al.

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"Evidence has shown that using a cellphone while driving is more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol." I am not disputing this, and am for clamping down, but throwing out statistics like this without providing the sources could suggest a made up story, which the media is capable of. What makes this worse is that this paragraph is followed by one that show police fine more cell users than drunk drivers, as if this in itself is verification. Fact is, more cops operate during the day than at night. fact is, someone talking on the phone can easily be spotted than someone driving over the limit. So, the fact that police stop more cellphone users is because less police work at night, drunk drivers just over the legal limit are not always stopped or even tested for alchohol, whereas spotting a cellphone user is fairly easy. Their phone can be seen by anyone standing on the side of the road. Confiscating phones creates the same problem as confiscating cars. Phone are cheap and the simcard belongs to the cellphone company. Also, the phone may belong to the employer. Best option is to arrest the offender and throw them in jail for the week. I hate cellphone users. I often notice them because they suddenly slow down for no reason and inconvenience everyone. If these people cannot use bluetooth or speaker phone facilities, then arrest the lot of them and I am sure after a while, they will catch a wake up call. Then again, it will increase bribery

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The traffic dept could double those stats on Parklands main Rd in 1 day if they got off their lazy asses and actually did some policing. I have not seen a traffic cop on that rd in 4 years, the taxis do as they please jumping 4 way stops, drivers do not obey road signs. Intersections get blocked. And I wont even mention the cell phone usage, throwing crap out the window, one taxi driver got out and pee'ed next to his front wheel whilst at a robot. I got the finger when I hooted at him.

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@Goodness Gracious, I couldn't agree more. What also happened to Zero Tolerance and the Broken Window approach? There are sufficient Road Traffic Laws as it is. All we need is Metro and Traffic Police to pull their fingers and enforce those laws. Start by putting walking officers on the streets. Traffic authorities get their officers up to date with the Road Traffic Act. So many people are parking on bends and on roads that doesn't allow two cars to pass each other without crossing the white line. Do that and also pay extra attention to infringements by taxi drivers and then there may just be a difference in drivers attitude. There are still cars being driven without number plates. Traffic police are not doing their jobs properly.

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What about smoking and talking on the cellphone while driving or using an Ipad when driving. Funny thing is they either stop dead in the road or drive faster. And the Traffic Cops that does the same?

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Why not confiscate their cars for offences like dangerous driving, drunken driving etc. Worst offenders for all of teh above including talking on the phone are those with money as they are joining the culture of "I have money so the law does not apply"

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It should be confiscated on first time offence, you live once no body should be afforded three opportunities to try and kill people

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why not use the same sentancing rules for drunken drivers then

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The chick in the pic is HOTTT!!!

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