By Noelene Barbeau
It was a quiet Saturday for two traffic officers who were speed trapping along the N2 near Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal, until they nearly fell off their beach chairs. One of three motorcyclists riding past was clocked at 295km/h, the highest recorded speed yet.
And this week magistrate Mahendra Daya handed down the highest fine yet recorded - R100 000 or three years' jail; half suspended for five years.
"I'll never do it again," said a very relieved speedster Jan Hendrik de Vos while shaking hands with officer Aboo Aboobaker.
De Vos was found guilty in the Scottburgh District Court on Thursday for travelling at 295km/h on his Suzuki GSX-R 1100, a motorcycle he no longer owns.
The record-breaker also has to pay a further R2 000 for riding an unlicensed vehicle and for not displaying his number plate or face six months in jail.
Daya said he strongly considered sending De Vos to jail to make an example of him. "I constantly deal with cases of speeding in this district. I don't know what it is about this stretch of freeway. People just go mad. Speedsters with fancy cars play a catch-me-if-you-can type of game, which is very dangerous," said Daya.
Daya told De Vos: "Your case is the highest recorded. You put yourself and others at risk. The speed you rode at is quite frightening. You need to learn tolerance and patience and respect the rules of the road."
Daya mentioned that he recently sentenced a speedster doing 185km/h to an R8 000 fine and this matter was before him again because Justice Vivienne Niles-Dun?r of the Durban High Court said the sentence was too lenient.
However, in De Vos's case Daya showed mercy and considered his personal circumstances - he is recently divorced, has a child he pays maintenance for and he ended up in hospital recently after being burgled and attacked.
De Vos had been on a breakfast run from Amanzimtoti to Margate with two of his mates last August along the N2 southbound near Port Shepstone.
As leader of the pack, he was clocked by officer Timothy Simpson as travelling at 295km/h.
Simpson told the court he was in shock as he shouted out the speed and colour of the bike to his partner, Krishna Marimuthu. They radioed Port Shepstone police to arrange for a roadblock, and went after the motorcyclists.
A few minutes later the two officers spotted the motorcyclists taking a cigarette break at the Ifafa off-ramp and saw the black motorcycle which displayed a "Capable of avoiding high pursuit" sticker. Both De Vos's friends told the officers they had taken him on a run to forget about his personal problems.
De Vos's defence was that it was a case of mistaken identity and that the speed timing device used at the time was faulty.
His attorney Kelvin Moodie argued that at that alleged speed there was no way the officers could identify all three motorcycles and its drivers. He said the weekend and the area were popular with motorcyclists on breakfast runs.
Moodie said the device was switched off when the officers went in pursuit of the three so there was no recording of the speed and he could not accept De Vos was travelling at 295km/h.
"If (De Vos) was guilty he would not have parked his motorcycle with the others on the side of the road in clear view of everyone. Witnesses testified that under perfect weather conditions their motorcycles could reach speeds of 260-270km/h, but it was windy on that day," said Moodie.
Prosecutor Christelle Rossouw said De Vos signed a document stating his guilt in speeding and riding an unlicensed and unregistered vehicle.
"Park Rynie is notoriously known for exceeding the speed limit in excess of 200km/h. There are 45 859 accidents reported in this area with 689 fatalities and the common cause is speeding and drunk driving. Speeding borders on gross recklessness and from case law the court has been too lenient in sentences, resulting in the problems on the road today," said Rossouw.
Daya said he was not impressed by De Vos's evidence and favoured the state witnesses. "He (De Vos) remained silent about the speed but spoke up about the minor offences. If he wasn't guilty then he would've defended himself.
"The officers had no reason to frame the accused. The final nail in his coffin was the statement he signed (that day) admitting his guilt," said Daya.
De Vos paid R10 000 to the court on Thursday and will pay a further R2 000 monthly from the end of July until the total amount is paid.