The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) has introduced ‘body lights’ which closely resemble the sirens attached to emergency vehicles.

In a presentation on Wednesday (27 March), the department said that the lights will ensure visibility for officers and will prevent them from being a casualty at the hand of reckless drivers.

The lights will be worn by all officers involved in traffic management, as well as any who conduct roadblock and stop searches, ultimately making up a large proportion of the JMPD force.

Speaking to BusinessTech spokesperson for Johannesburg Public Safety, Luyanda Longwe, said that the lights will be affixed to an officer’s shoulder and will flash red and blue.

She added that the lights had officially been handed over in December and that officers would wear the lights at night for visibility purposes.

You can see what the lights will look like in the video below:

Reckless driving

The decision to issue body lights forms part of a clampdown on reckless driving in Johannesburg.

The City also announced that it plans to introduce a new hotline on messaging platform WhatsApp, for the city’s residents to report reckless driving.

The hotline will be operated by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), and allows residents to report reckless and inconsiderate road behaviour.

Residents will be able to upload video footage and pictures along with other details, which will then be followed up by the JMPD. This includes dash-cam or helmet-cam footage of incidents.

Read: Big push to introduce new South African drunk driving laws