Traffic police have warned of a crack-down on chatty motorists who talk on their cellphones whilst driving.
This follows the issuing of eight R700 fines to drivers over the festive season.
Superintendent Frikkie Coetzee said it was advisable to install a hands-free kit, as officers are stepping up their campaign against this trend.
He added that legislation exempts police, traffic police and other emergency services personnel from being fined should they use their cellphones and/or hand-held radios for official business while driving.
While the festive season was quieter than in previous years in terms of traffic offences, traffic officials did issue 180 fines from November 13 to January 15.
These were for not being in possession of a driver’s licence, overtaking on a barrier line, failing to stop at a stop street/red light, failure to wear seat belts, faulty number plates and faulty brakes.
“There was only one fatality over this period in the area of our jurisdiction, which is the built-up areas. The Road Traffic Inspectorate operate mainly in the outlying areas,” he said.
The highest speed recorded was 99km per hour in a 60km zone on Victoria Street, in the vicinity of Handley Street.
The driver was, ironically, a municipal employee who was ‘rushing to work’.
Mr Coetzee, who famously fined his own mother for speeding while working in Witbank some years ago, said officers work ‘without fear or favour when it comes to carrying out their duties’.
One drunk driver was arrested at a mobile roadblock on December 13.
The driver was held for four hours and then released.
Shortly afterwards he was killed while driving near Hattingspruit when his car crashed into a bakkie.
Five vehicles – three trucks/bakkies and two taxis – were suspended after they were deemed to be unroadworthy.
The town’s traffic lights also took strain over the holidays: a truck knocked over a robot on the corner of Willson and Beaconsfield Streets, while another traffic light was flattened twice by trucks on the corner of McKenzie and Willson Streets.
The Pick’nPay centre traffic lights, which were not working for weeks, saw four fender-benders, Superintendent Coetzee reported. The traffic lights at the entrance to the town were also not working for several days, but have since been fixed.
Asked why it took so long to fix the traffic lights, he explained that the Transport Department has still not handed over control of the Pick’nPay centre robots, or the set at the entrance to the town, to the municipality.
“A contractor has to come from Durban to repair the robots. The other lights are ours, so we can have them repaired right away.”
Further good news for the Traffic Department is that two vacancies will be filled by April.
The testing station is booked up until February with those undergoing driver’s license testing.