Cape Town -The City of Cape Town has raked in more than R200 million from traffic fines over the past year - a 100 percent increase from the previous year.
During the 2013/14 financial year the city collected R100m for traffic violations.
The increase has been attributed to interventions introduced by the city including: efforts by “Operation Reclaim” which pursues motorists with outstanding warrants; the use of licence plate recognition cameras that help identify drivers with outstanding warrants on the road; the use of dashboard cams in more city enforcement vehicles; the implementation of bulk SMS reminders for fines issued; summonses and warrants of arrest; and the admin mark on E-Natis which ensures that all warrants are paid up before a motorist can renew their driver’s licence or vehicle registration.
In addition, higher fine amounts were introduced last year and June 2015 saw a record for traffic fine income in a single month when more than R23m was collected.
At the weekend, 3 086 vehicles were stopped at roadblocks across the province and fines worth R336 500 were issued for various offences, said provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa.
“We have started engaging with the National Prosecuting Authority to prevent massive numbers of fines from being withdrawn through redirection, especially for fleet proxy licence holders,” Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said.
“We have also tightened up procedures around prosecutors and reporting mechanisms to prevent fines being withdrawn and this has seen the figure drop from 65 percent to 30 percent.”
The City of Cape Town is also paying for additional staff at traffic courts to ensure that these courts, which are controlled by the national government, are able to process all fines and sign all warrants.
Cape Times