DEAR Editor,-
It has been brought to my attention that along Marine Drive (between Ugu and where one comes down the hill from Port Shepstone side) the traffic department has set up a camera right next to an electrical box on the beach side of the road in the southbound lane. This is illegal due to the high voltage cables contained in this box which affect the accuracy of the speed trapping device.
As a citizen of the South Coast, I am getting really annoyed with the ‘backhanded’ methods that are being implemented to try and swell the coffers. I do agree that motorists must adhere to the laws of the road regarding speed, etc, but the authorities must also adhere to the stipulated methods for catching and prosecuting offenders.
As stated before, instead of law enforcement officers taking the easy route of sitting on their fat backsides to generate funds, they must use the time fining and follow up on outstanding fines for all the other offences committed in the Ugu magisterial district, for which they are responsible. That is, vehicles and taxis that are not roadworthy, taxis just stopping to offload or load passengers wherever they please, often causing accidents, as well as making it unsafe for other road users and the public, etc, etc. I can go on and on here as the list is endless.
I copied and pasted information, which I think all residents of the South Coast need to know, regarding speed trapping that takes place virtually on a daily basis between the traffic lights in front of the Port Shepstone Regional Hospital, Baptist Church and Confusion Junction. Often traffic officers are on the northbound bank, hiding in bushes, and often on the southbound side where the Presbyterian Church is (where the traffic officer nearly got run over).
Read the reasoning behind why I say this trapping is illegal and I ask you to publish these extracted Road Traffic Rules and stipulations as set out by the relevant traffic department regarding the use of radar trapping devices:
2.1.2 There shall be no large, stationary, or metal objects (e.g. patrol vehicle, bus shelter) within a radius of 50 metres in front of the radar SME;
2.1.3 There shall be no metal road signs or vertical flat surfaces within 15 (fifteen) degrees on either side of the aiming direction, within a distance of 200 metres of the antenna;
2.1.4 The equipment may only be used where there is a clear view, any obstruction taken into account, within 45 degrees of the direction of aim over a distance of 600 metres;
2.1.5 There shall be no high-tension cables within a radius of 100 metres of the antenna;
2.1.6 There shall be no discharge type lamps (such as sodium or neon) in operation within 45 degrees of the direction of aim within 100 metres of the antenna.
HOWARD SMITH
