Durban - If, while in the driver’s seat, you have your cellphone in your hand and the engine running, you are breaking the law.
And, said traffic officials, motorists continued to risk their lives and those of others despite the hefty R1500 fine.
“The numbers are down but it would be naive to think the level of compliance has improved. Yes, the fine has tripled to R1500 (since 2012) which may be a deterrent, but it is not inconceivable that (then) the law was relatively new and we had more focus enforcing compliance than now,” metro police spokesman, Senior Superintendent Eugene Msomi, said.
NEW PROBLEMS ARISING
Motorists answering calls was no longer the only problem, but also drivers checking messages and social media.
From January to April this year, police issued 1499 traffic fines: 364 in January, 382 in February, 427 in March and 326 in April.
In 2012, the police issued 2357 fines for the first four months of the year: 537, 502, 643 and 675 fines respectively.
Despite the drop, the practice continued.
The Daily News recently joined metro police at a roadblock to catch errant drivers. In two hours a dozen motorists on cellphones were spotted.
Most avoided fines because they dropped their phones into their laps as soon as they spotted the cops.
Others avoided detection when the team was busy with motorists already pulled over, or they were too far away to be stopped (in the furthest lane).
The team issued only four fines.
Senior Constable Frank Mchunu, who has worked for the metro police for 26 years, said the practice often ended in an accident.
Recent research done by the Road Traffic Management Corporation showed that a motorist had a four-times greater chance of being involved in a car crash when using a cellphone and almost double that when SMSing.
IT’S ABOUT STAYING CONNECTED
Like Msomi, he chalked up the cellphone usage to an increased reliance on social media.
“It’s not about emergencies anymore. It’s about wanting to be connected to your friends all the time. Recently, there was a driver who had the phone in the right hand, while holding the steering wheel. How do you complete a turn when you don’t have a grip? It’s reckless.”
Mchunu said police were often confronted with aggressive and hostile motorists, who demanded to know why they were spending time “trapping” them instead of “catching real criminals”.
One of the motorists stopped said his house had been burgled recently and he had called police three times.
“He told us that nobody came to help him then, but that we were very eager to take his money now. He was very angry,” he said.
EMPLOYERS ALSO BLAMED
Others blamed work. A bus driver said her employers prohibited her from answering the phone while driving, but then grew anxious if she did not answer their calls.
“Boss-blaming is common,” he said.
Constable Phindile Ntuli said motorists sometimes became hysterical.
“I had a case once where I had to pull a woman over and she began crying so badly that I had to call an ambulance. She couldn’t breathe.”
Sick relatives were also blamed, she said.
“Sometimes people talk about people in hospital and they are rushing not to miss visiting hours,” Mchunu said.
Others said the call was “an emergency”.
“Emergencies happen, but sometimes it’s a lie. I once drove behind a person for some time, before pulling him over. He maintained it was an emergency but it was clear he was having a nice chat.”
FLIRTING WITH COPS
Constable Gugu Mnguni said to avoid being fined, some motorists flirted with the female cops.
“They’ll say things like: ‘But you’re so beautiful. You shouldn’t be giving fines.’ Motorists often ask us to put our numbers at the bottom of the fines,” she said, laughing.
The N3 toll concession, in its statement ahead of long weekends and holidays, often warns motorists of the danger of using cellphones while driving.
“The onus rests on every motorist to adopt defensive driving techniques and share the road responsibly to ensure safe passage. Interrogation of the causes of crashes on the N3 toll route indicates that speed, aggressive driver behaviour and poor vehicle maintenance play a major part in crashes.
“Mindful driver and passenger behaviour should be considered while travelling, such as the use of seatbelts for all occupants of the vehicle, the use of appropriate child restraints, and (elimination of) distractions caused as a result of cellphone usage and fatigue,” the organisation said.
Daily News