SHARE
Traffic law-enforcement officers from the Gauteng Traffic Inspectorate (GTI) joined a week-long, high-impact multi-disciplinary inter-provincial road safety and traffic enforcement operation across key municipal corridors and cross-border routes.
The inter-provincial operation comprised officials from the South African Police Service, Home Affairs, Merafong Traffic, Rand West Traffic, North-West Traffic Police, Gauteng Transport Inspectorate as well as the National Traffic Police. Operations extended into corridors along the North-West border, targeting regional freight and public transport movements.
During the seven-day operation, GTI logged over 1 500 traffic infringements, issued dozens of vehicle discontinuation notices and effected arrests as part of a push to improve road safety and eliminate unlicensed public transport operators.
Officers deployed both handwritten notices and advanced digital e-Force devices to enforce compliance under the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) framework.
The e-Force system enables traffic officers to verify driver licences, vehicle registration status and active warrants instantly. The system accounted for more than half of all logged violations during the week.
712 (364 handwritten and 348 using e-Force) notices in the City of Johannesburg; with 697 in the City of Tshwane and 123 in the City of Ekurhuleni were issued. A total of thirty (30) notices issued on the North-West corridor.
A central pillar of the week’s campaign was strict enforcement of public transport regulations, specifically targeting non-compliant minibus taxi operators and unroadworthy vehicles.Traffic officers issued 34 discontinuation notices to unroadworthy vehicles, preventing them from operating until mechanical and safety defects are fully rectified. In the City of Johannesburg twenty vehicles were discontinued, eleven in the City of Ekurhuleni and three in the City of Tshwane.
Further inspection of public transport operations highlighted major administrative and safety violations on commuter routes. Sixty-one minibus taxis were found to be operating without valid licence discs, fifty-nine taxi drivers operating without valid driving licences and twenty-seven minibuses were impounded. In addition to regulatory traffic enforcement, GTI officers conducted high-visibility stop-and-search operations and static checkpoints aimed at reducing criminal activity on provincial highways. This led to the arrest of a motorist for driving under the influence and another for contravention of immigration act.
Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela said that “there will be zero tolerance for unroadworthy vehicles, reckless behaviour, or criminality on Gauteng’s roads ahead and during the holiday season”.
“We wish to state these operations will remain ongoing for the entire festive period. GTI has been instructed to scale up joint operations with local municipal metro police departments as well as the South African Police Service (SAPS) to enforce traffic laws, maximize public safety, and prevent criminal activity” added the MEC
These collaborative operations serve to reinforce law enforcement efforts to promote road safety, ensure compliance with traffic laws and combat criminal activities across the province.
INFO SUPPLIED.