Could the cameras be conning us?
According to the reader the speeding camera’s shell (the grey housing it is kept inside) was in its usual spot, but about two kilometres on – the actual camera stood semi-concealed
Last year in June, eMalahleni deployed their very own speeding cameras in the city.
The deployment of eMalahleni’s speeding cameras lead to quite an uproar, with one man resorting to pulling black bags over the cameras on November 4 of 2018, and another sticking ‘stickers’ onto the cameras’ lenses on November 9 of the same year.
Further complaints arose after motorists received fines despite having proof that they were at work at the time that the fine was issued, or that these cameras had been mounted near a blasting site and on top of small pebbles in order to level them, leading to further concerns regarding accuracy and calibration.
Motorists breathed a sigh of relief when, in June of this year, the speeding cameras suddenly vanished.
However, since July, the speeding cameras have been back – the only difference being that this time the traffic department received the ‘go ahead’ from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to place the cameras anywhere within eMalahleni, instead of just on the main roads; which will mean that the traffic department has the liberty to move the cameras around.
A freedom they never truly had before.
An anonymous reader reached out to the WITBANK NEWS after discovering something truly shocking.
According to the reader the speeding camera’s shell (the grey housing it is kept inside) was in its usual spot, but about two kilometres on – the actual camera stood semi-concealed.
“We feel like this is being done to trick us, just to make more money off of us,” a different concerned citizen pleaded, “they’re hoping motorists speed up just after passing the camera so that they can fine them. It just feels like a cheap trick.”
Section 1.8 of the TCSP Guidelines states that; “Only speed measuring or traffic light violation monitoring equipment installed in a permanently secured housing may be used for automated operations for prosecution of speed violations and/or traffic light violations.”
The municipality was approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.
