Cape Town's traffic by-law undergoes major review for the first time in 15 years

The City of Cape Town is set to launch an updated traffic by-law for public participation starting this Friday, marking the first comprehensive review of the legislation in 15 years.

JP Smith, the Safety and Security Mayco member, highlighted that the original by-law was enacted in 2011, making this overhaul a crucial step towards enhancing road safety and compliance in the city.

“Work on the amendments began in 2019 through the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security, with some provisions already gazetted in 2022.

“The review specifically looks at empowering officers to impound vehicles in instances of reckless or dangerous driving. The by-law is really an attempt to create meaningful behaviour change on our roads,” Smith said.

He noted that despite the high number of fines issued in Cape Town, driver behaviour has not improved.

“In March, April, May, June, and July, we issued between 181,000 and 344,000 fines per month. In August, 206,000 fines were issued. Over the past six months, that comes to 1,386,247 fines, valued at about R960 million,” said Smith.

“Cape Town has a higher fine payment rate than the rest of the country, but fines alone don’t seem to be changing driver behaviour.”

Smith pointed to South Africa’s road fatality rate, with between 13,000 and 16,000 deaths annually.

“That figure is higher than many of our African neighbours to the north, more than double in some cases, and internationally it compares very badly. We are accustomed to speaking about gang violence and other crimes as major causes of unnatural death. Still, we must recognise that reckless driving is also killing people every day,” he said.

Pedestrians remain the most vulnerable group. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s 2023 statistics, 23% of road deaths were linked to jaywalking.

“When a motor vehicle collides with a human, the pedestrian is far more likely to die than the people inside the vehicle. People walking on the shoulder of the road, alongside roads, on sidewalks, or crossing illegally are at huge risk,” Smith said.

The city has added 200 traffic enforcement officers in the past four years, with 810 recruits deployed in the latest intake.

But Smith warned that fines and manpower alone will not resolve the crisis.

Public transport operators are among the biggest offenders.

“Some of these drivers have up to 1,880 warrants. When they are eventually caught, the taxi owner simply replaces them with another driver who behaves the same way,” said Smith.

He emphasised that the by-law would not target public transport drivers but all road users.

The public will now have the opportunity to comment on the draft by-law before it is finalised by Council.

Portfolio committee chairperson for safety and security, Councillor Mzwakhe Nqavashe, said the amendments are designed to address reckless conduct that endangers other road users.

The proposed changes will be open for comment until October 20.

Submissions can be sent to [email protected] or delivered to the Gallows Hill Traffic Department in Green Point, or call 021 4447691 from 8 to 4:30pm weekdays. 

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Cape Argus