R16 million traffic fine target from a South African municipality raises concerns

R16 million traffic fine target from a South African municipality raises concerns

The Hessequa Municipality Traffic Department has an official quarterly performance target of R4 million to be collected through traffic fines.

 

[Bad Ballie]

Still trying to deny that traffic fines were always about revenue? Let's just keep denying that even back in the day of the municipal police officer had a daily quota based on the particular municipalities' annual budget shortfall. Let's just keep telling ourselves that traffic fines are about safety and not making money, I mean we still keep telling ourselves that government does things for our benefit don't we.

 

[EmmanuelGoldstein]

Ag please, the targets thing has been around for a VERY LONG time.. I even heard stories about it in school.

 

[Zellephant]

I am not at all surprised it’s Hessequa. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, if I drive the N2 through there, like clockwork a few weeks later the fines notices start arriving - although they have never a actually served me in the formal and required manner, so I have never paid one of their fines. I think according to Fines SA or one of the other online scam artists they allow you to pay your fines through I owe them around R15k at the moment. But im happy to take my chances - will figure something out if they actually stop me in person and decide to drag me to traffic court.

Im also convinced their camera calibration is not right, the one spot I regularly get fined at is somehow always 76kp/h in a 60 zone. Like clockwork. Not sometimes 78 and sometimes 74. It’s always, like 4 times in the past year, always 76kp/h exactly.

 

[notayoba]

I am not at all surprised it’s Hessequa. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, if I drive the N2 through there, like clockwork a few weeks later the fines notices start arriving - although they have never a actually served me in the formal and required manner, so I have never paid one of their fines. I think according to Fines SA or one of the other online scam artists they allow you to pay your fines through I owe them around R15k at the moment. But im happy to take my chances - will figure something out if they actually stop me in person and decide to drag me to traffic court.

Im also convinced their camera calibration is not right, the one spot I regularly get fined at is somehow always 76kp/h in a 60 zone. Like clockwork. Not sometimes 78 and sometimes 74. It’s always, like 4 times in the past year, always 76kp/h exactly.

Fully agree.

I've resorted to creeping through Riversdale at 40km/h and still end up with fines. I don't think it's possible to go between Plett and Cape Town without some fines. Another favourite trick is to simply not put up any speed limit signs, so you're not sure if this piece of double lane highway is 120 or 60 (why they make random bits of double lane highway 60 is beyond me)

Anyway, I just don't pay it unless I get the summons (about 1 out of 20). So no biggie.

 

[ld13]

I drive through there regularly and have never received a fine. But yes, I am the slowpoke on the N2 doing 125 max

 

[geezer]

I drive through there regularly and have never received a fine. But yes, I am the slowpoke on the N2 doing 125 max

I set my car's cruise control on 115km/h as per GPS speed on the highways.

 

[neoprema]

0 to do with safety, 100% to do with money.

Anyone who thought differently was delusional lol.

 

[Zellephant]

I drive through there regularly and have never received a fine. But yes, I am the slowpoke on the N2 doing 125 max

I don’t see how that helps, because the fines aren’t for 140 in a 120 zone, it’s always 60km/h zones, and On my way! times 80km/h zones where these farcical fines are issued - and there seem to be loads of unescesarry, and often unmarked random 60 and 80 zones throughout the hessequa section of the N2

I set my car's cruise control on 115km/h as per GPS speed on the highways.

Why? It also isn’t going to help you from getting fines in random, unmarked 60 and 80 zones.

 

[Zellephant]

Fully agree.

I've resorted to creeping through Riversdale at 40km/h and still end up with fines. I don't think it's possible to go between Plett and Cape Town without some fines. Another favourite trick is to simply not put up any speed limit signs, so you're not sure if this piece of double lane highway is 120 or 60 (why they make random bits of double lane highway 60 is beyond me)

Anyway, I just don't pay it unless I get the summons (about 1 out of 20). So no biggie

Ya, they have never managed to deliver a summons to me yet. The crappy bit is when you travel through there in a rental car though, then the rental company jut charges your credit card for the fine and ads a R400 fine handling fee. But in my personal vehicles, yeah, i will wait on the summons.

These days I prefer driving R62 anyway. Much less stressful than the N2, more scenic, and no cameras, or ridiculous low speed zones for no apparent reason.

 

[Nerfherder]

Still trying to deny that traffic fines were always about revenue? Let's just keep denying that even back in the day of the municipal police officer had a daily quota based on the particular municipalities' annual budget shortfall. Let's just keep telling ourselves that traffic fines are about safety and not making money, I mean we still keep telling ourselves that government does things for our benefit don't we.

I despise that they even have any targets for fines.

The target should be for less accidents\incidents in the area. If speeding fines reduce the incidents then its a success, if there are less fines because people are driving slower (and not causing accidents) then its still a win. The amount of fines are not a measure of success.

The idiotic logic of seeing fines as revenue is criminal.

I saw the same logic used when I first started working as a developer. The test managers wanted to incentivise the testers to find issues with the system so they would give them a chocolate for every bug they could find. We used to get such petty issues logged, like for random text being out of alignment and full stops missing from a page that is almost never shown.
It always meant that project completion was delayed and everything took forever... and we still had prod issues because the testing was always focused on trivial things and never on real world functionality.

 

[ld13]

I don’t see how that helps, because the fines aren’t for 140 in a 120 zone, it’s always 60km/h zones, and On my way! times 80km/h zones where these farcical fines are issued - and there seem to be loads of unescesarry, and often unmarked random 60 and 80 zones throughout the hessequa section of the N2

Yeah, they do have some weird speed changes. I struggle the most with the 80 down to 60 into Riversdale on the engen side, all downhill.

 

[Tantus]

These days I prefer driving R62 anyway. Much less stressful than the N2, more scenic, and no cameras, or ridiculous low speed zones for no apparent reason.

The R62 is an amazing route - we love it. Similar to many in the Mpumalanga Lowveld, but in a better condition

 

[Devo1]

Money making pieces of **** this municipality. Hope they get a pain in the a$$.

Last year I went to George via N2 from Worcester, a month later to Riversdale again and then a few months after that to George again for schools rugby.

ALL 3 times I got a speeding fine (R400, R400 and R200) for driving +- 94km/h in a 80km/h zone on the N2. AT THE EXACT SAME PLACE! I KNOW I did not speed as I always adhere to speed signs. So I am confident that the speed sign on that specific stretch of road is 100km/h.

Description on the fines with the iCam pictures states area as "Heidelberg - N2 between road marker N2-5 53.6 and N2-5 50.8 direction both".

I just paid them. Garbage. This year both High School Oakdale and Outeniqua came/come to us to play, so luckily no travel on that p.o.s road till next year.

Filthy municipality. Hope the officials all get crabs.

 

[Zellephant]

Money making pieces of **** this municipality. Hope they get a pain in the a$$.

Last year I went to George via N2 from Worcester, a month later to Riversdale again and then a few months after that to George again for schools rugby.

ALL 3 times I got a speeding fine (R400, R400 and R200) for driving +- 94km/h in a 80km/h zone on the N2. AT THE EXACT SAME PLACE! I KNOW I did not speed as I always adhere to speed signs. So I am confident that the speed sign on that specific stretch of road is 100km/h.

Description on the fines with the iCam pictures states area as "Heidelberg - N2 between road marker N2-5 53.6 and N2-5 50.8 direction both".

I just paid them. Garbage. This year both High School Oakdale and Outeniqua came/come to us to play, so luckily no travel on that p.o.s road till next year.

Filthy municipality. Hope the officials all get crabs.

Why did you pay? Did they serve you with a summons?

I drive that terrible piece of road far too often. I am convinced they don’t have the correct signage up, and they know the majority of the traffic on that stretch of road is “transit traffic” so they rely on us just rolling over and paying becasue it’s too much trouble to fight the system

 

[Devo1]

Why did you pay? Did they serve you with a summons?

I drive that terrible piece of road far too often. I am convinced they don’t have the correct signage up, and they know the majority of the traffic on that stretch of road is “transit traffic” so they rely on us just rolling over and paying becasue it’s too much trouble to fight the system

No summons, I just paid for the same reason I pay my tv license, to get them off my back and so that they can leave me the f alone . Don't have time for constant harassment/spam calls and texts.

 

[ld13]

ALL 3 times I got a speeding fine (R400, R400 and R200) for driving +- 94km/h in a 80km/h zone on the N2. AT THE EXACT SAME PLACE! I KNOW I did not speed as I always adhere to speed signs. So I am confident that the speed sign on that specific stretch of road is 100km/h.

Description on the fines with the iCam pictures states area as "Heidelberg - N2 between road marker N2-5 53.6 and N2-5 50.8 direction both".

The rest stop just outside Heidelberg falls within those road markers and are 100 heading toward Heidelberg and 80 heading out. They like to have a camera here, or on the other side entering Heidelberg where the speed also drops to 80 (they like to park right after the speed change).

 

[Tantus]

My father imported clear polarised plastic covers to be put over number plates. From more than 5 degrees straight ahead the number plates were "blank". Must find the source....

 

[supersunbird]

Still trying to deny that traffic fines were always about revenue? Let's just keep denying that even back in the day of the municipal police officer had a daily quota based on the particular municipalities' annual budget shortfall. Let's just keep telling ourselves that traffic fines are about safety and not making money, I mean we still keep telling ourselves that government does things for our benefit don't we.

Why can't it be about both? And why can't we drive within the speed limit and force them to get their revenue through enforcement of other bad driving and why do we give them the easy one to do?

 

[Rickster]

Still trying to deny that traffic fines were always about revenue? Let's just keep denying that even back in the day of the municipal police officer had a daily quota based on the particular municipalities' annual budget shortfall. Let's just keep telling ourselves that traffic fines are about safety and not making money, I mean we still keep telling ourselves that government does things for our benefit don't we.

Why not both?

Plenty of idiots on the road, will make their quota quick quick.