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With the festive season approaching at a rapid pace, is Newcastle Traffic Services operating at an optimal level to enforce traffic laws?
Currently, Newcastle Municipality has 36 traffic officers in its employment. Out of these, 11 are under suspension, leaving 25 traffic officers to man the streets of Newcastle.
In January this year, the Department of Transport released the road fatality data for the 2018/19 festive period. This data covered the fatalities reported between 1 December 2018 and 8 January 2019.
During the 39 days, a staggering 1,612 people lost their lives on SA roads.
With this frightening figure in mind, is the Newcastle Municipality’s traffic officials equipped to deal with the influx of traffic during the festive season?
“Shortages of traffic officers is a national challenge and not unique to individual authorities. Such shortages cannot be quantified, because there is no formula to determine the ratio of traffic officers per vehicle or road user,” says Dr Dumisani Thabethe, the head of communications at Newcastle Municipality.
How does a shortage of municipal traffic officers affect the Newcastle community?
Dr Thabethe explains admits an insufficient number of traffic officers means there cannot be an omnipresence of road traffic law enforcement on local roads.
“This compromises road safety and one has to respond to incidents on a reactive basis, whereas the principles of road traffic management encourage proactive policing,” Dr Thabethe says.
With that said, when are the 11 suspended traffic officers expected to resume their duties? Surely 25 municipal traffic officers cannot be expected to enforce road regulations with a shortage of staff.
“The matter is sub-judice and the necessary processes are underway to expedite its finalisation. Newcastle Traffic Services have contingency plans in place with other law enforcement counterparts, should a need arise,” Dr Thabethe says.
What do some of these contingency plans involve?
Dr Thabethe insists law enforcement plans are not compromised, stating roadblocks and so forth will continue.
“We are dependent on positive driver attitude and adherence towards road traffic rules to ensure their own safety and that of others. After all road safety is everyone’s responsibility,” he concludes.
What are your thoughts and views on the matter? Do you think the Newcastle Municipality’s Traffic Services will be able to enforce traffic laws on the current staff compliment? Share your opinions with us in the comment section below.
3 Responses
I was surprise to read that we have so many traffic officers. The surprise being that you are lucky if you see 5 during the day. Some mornings you will find 2-3 officers at the Victoria robots looking at the backed up traffic just standing there. Not to mention the backed up traffic in the afternoons in Albert Wessels and Magnolia.
If they can not even manage backed up traffic how are they going to handle the holiday traffic.
Thirty six traffic officers??????????
Wow! You could have fooled me.
Where are they hiding ???
We have just been stopped outside Newcastle for speeding by an unmasked Traffic Officer Thobeka Dlamini for doing 100 in an 80 zone. No problem with that. The problem lies in the fact that the Nissan bakkie (HP69HPGP) that we were traveling closely behind (and doing exactly the same speed as) and who also stopped thinking it was them who had been pulled over, was not charged and was waved on. It was absolutely impossible that the speed on the camera was that of our car and not the car in front. After writing out the fine Officer Thobeka Dlamini said that if we had not challenged her she would have “let us go”. Could it be that Thobeka Dlamini thought that she may get a bigger bribe from a bigger motor vehicle? We have no problem with paying a fine that is legitimate but in this instance discrimination took place which is illegal. The driver of the aforementioned bakkie stayed put for the entire time while we were pulled over (despite both traffic officers trying to get them to move on) and can bare witness to what happened. When we finally left, we were sarcastically jeered at amidst much unprofessional laughing, dancing and gesticulating. Perhaps the Newcastle municipality should consider better selection and training of their traffic officers?