Why Durban drivers ignore red traffic lights

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Durban - Motorists on city roads may - for now - get away with driving through red traffic lights and driving over the speed limit where fixed cameras are placed because of a “compliance” issue the municipality is currently facing. A source revealed this when the Daily News enquired about the functionality of these fixed cameras at intersections after witnessing motorists driving through seconds after the red-light signal appeared. The well-placed source said the service provider for an electronic enforcement tender was contesting certain issues. The source said it could not provide a timeline for when the issue would be resolved. Meetings were ongoing, the source said. Tozi Mthethwa, the municipality’s spokesperson, remained tight-lipped, saying: “In the interests of complying with the law on the use of traffic cameras on city roads, the city has stopped using the traffic cameras at intersections. “Once the compliance matter has been dealt with, we will continue using the speed-measuring equipment on city roads.”

“In the interim, our metro police unit has deployed 450 officers to ensure that motorists adhere to the law. Regular roadblocks are also ongoing.

“Motorists are urged to comply with the speed limit. Non-compliance can be reported to 031 361 0000.”

Not only taxis do it

The Daily News observed four busy intersections during afternoon peak-hour traffic along Umgeni Road and found skipping a red light was common, not only by minibus taxi drivers.

At the intersection of Sandile Thusi (Argyle) and Umgeni roads, 16 cars ignored the red robot, driving through the intersection without stopping. At the intersection of Umgeni Road north and Isaiah Ntshangase (Walter Gilbert) Road, which leads to the stadiums, a fixed camera did not flash although more than 12 cars had gone through a red signal.

In five minutes and four signal changes at Smiso Nkwanyana (Goble) Road and Umgeni north, 25 cars broke the law including a minibus taxi, travelling on the left lane, that nearly collided with a car that had already turned from Umgeni Road southbound towards Smiso Nkwanyana Road. The fine for driving through a red traffic signal is R1 500.

While some motorists would not like to see this camera fixed, it has been staring at the ground for nearly a year on Chris Hani (North Coast) Road at the intersection of Blackburn Road. The reason it has not been fixed is apparently because the city has to resolve a compliance issue with the service provider. Picture: Zainul Dawood

Howard Dembovsky, chairperson of Justice Project South Africa, a non-profit organisation that focuses on the improvement of road traffic law and its enforcement, criticised the municipality for failing to comply with the legal requirement of using fixed cameras to capture motorists who disregarded traffic lights.

He felt all traffic law-enforcement authorities must, among others, comply with the legal requirement that camera operations are in the interests of road safety, as opposed to being revenue-generation tools.

Christopher Peters, of Phoenix, said there was a fixed camera when exiting Phoenix Highway at the intersection of the R102, but he was not convinced it worked because of the frequent fatal collisions there.

Dembovsky said the biggest problem was that there was little or no evidence to support the notion that such cameras prevented collisions.

“These cameras constitute an alternative to the infinitely more effective measures of stopping those who exceed the speed limit or disregard traffic signals. Neither fixed nor portable cameras have this positive effect on road safety,” Dembovsky said. He felt deploying 450 traffic officers in a city the size of Durban to enforce compliance with road traffic laws seemed low, because these officers worked shifts.

“This may be a good start, but it simply is not enough. However, it is not always the number of cops around that makes the difference, but whether they are deployed to the “hot spots” to tackle the most urgent issues.

'Serious and ethical policing needed'

Dembovsky said the city needed to take a serious look at its law-enforcement efforts and to stop using the “zero tolerance” slogan authorities had become so fond of bandying about. He called for some serious and ethical policing to be done and for them to do what they were mandated to do.

The wait for the compliance could be the reason why a fixed camera had not been repaired for nearly a year on Chris Hani (North Coast) Road at the intersection of Blackburn Road.

The camera is facing the lawn because it has tilted forward. Another fixed camera on Chris Hani Road has tilted backwards to face the sky.

Advocate Moipone Noko, the provincial Director of Public Prosecutions, said they could not comment on the matter.

Daily News