Operation Shanela: The Minibus Taxi Industry in KwaZulu-Natal

Hamba Kalula/ Thath ‘Iskorokoro/ Phezukwabo

Road accidents have an epic impact on South Africa in respect of human loss and suffering, cost to the economy and losses to industry. An ever weakening rail network coupled with the strong economic growth in South Africa has culminated in a significant increase in the number of heavy vehicles on the road network. The increase in heavy motor vehicle volumes subsequently increased the number of truck accidents in the Province. This campaign focused and will continue to focus on the two critical causes of heavy motor vehicle and passenger transport accidents .i.e. human error and vehicle fitness.
The Thath’iskorokoro/Phezukwabo project was initiated in response to the number of fatal bus accidents on the Provinces roads.
The escalation of accidents, injuries and their financial cost is preventable but it requires integrated law enforcement interventions by the Directorate and other stakeholders. It is imperative to manage and change drivers’ attitudes and behaviour in order to reduce the carnage on the road.
The objective of this strategy is to reduce the number of heavy vehicle accidents in KwaZulu-Natal by addressing the heavy motor vehicle driver behaviour and maintaining a free flow of traffic from the law enforcement point of view. The enforcement covered and will continue to cover general roadworthiness of public transport and freight vehicles, the identification and recovery of stolen vehicles, permit compliance and fraudulently obtained vehicle/driver documentation.

Red Spot Team

The red spot team has been formed to address deviant driver behaviour in areas identified as red spot areas.
Areas are categorized as such owing to the number of fatal accidents that have occurred in that area due to mainly driver behavior.

The moving violations that are enforced include offences that range from barrier lines, speeding, reckless and or negligent driving, inconsiderate driving, etc.
Vehicles used for this operation are specifically marked and highly visible.
The team has been productive in respect of addressing the serious moving violations. The efforts of the officers have contributed in a decrease in the number of fatal accidents.

Funda Ukushayela

The driving school industry is not a regulated industry.
To address the increasing numbers of “fly by night” driving school operators and instructors who don’t possess the necessary permits to instruct learner drivers, the aforementioned operation was implemented.
This programme aims to rid the industry of unqualified/illegal instructors and promotes compliance with the driving school industry.
This in turn ensures that learner drivers are instructed by suitably qualified and knowledgeable instructors in the hope of producing better qualified and safer drivers

Mobile Brake Testing

The primary intention of the mobile brake testing machine was to assist the law enforcement agencies with on-site vehicle inspections.
The mobile brake testing machine is a multi functional piece of equipment that can be towed to various locations and is easy to operate with minimal manpower.
It can be utilised for brake testing, shaker plates, jack for undercarriage checks and an axle mass sensor capable of weighing individual axles accurately which assist with accurate results on the brakes efficiency of the vehicle.
This programme addressed vehicle fitness that once could only be assessed at a vehicle test centre but which now can be done on the side of the road. It has improved and added value to vehicle fitness operations.

Anpr Vehicle With Tracker Systems

A high tech vehicle equipped with Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology and tracker systems is utilized to spearhead operations focusing on the recovery of stolen vehicles, hijacked vehicles, vehicles used in the commission of crimes amongst others.

The ANPR vehicle is also used to enforce moving violations and to identify vehicles with outstanding traffic fines.
The unit attached to this operation have excelled in their integrated operations with the South African Police Force Tracker units, Metro police, Task Force and Flying Squad.
The ANPR vehicle has assisted and also contributed to a huge success in retrieving and locating stolen or hijacked vehicles.

The unit has been successful and at the Provincial Tracker Awards function which was held in Durban on the 4 August 2010, the unit was awarded the Best Performance award outside the SAPF (Unit members proudly display their award pictured above).

Warrants Section

Warrants of arrest (WOA) are generated from the Section 56 Summonses that were issued by the PTEU, TTIU and TTIG officers and which successfully passed through the judicial system.
The admission of guilt fines not paid by the accused results in the generation of a WOA, which then has to be served on the accused.
The time frame currently for a warrant of arrest to serve successfully is a minimum of 2 years. After the 2 years the warrants must be returned to court to be cancelled.
PTEU officer’s serve the WOA’s to ensure that issued warrants are not cancelled and the wrongdoer brought to justice.
There are many challenges that are encountered by the officers, however, some success is being made and fines that would have otherwise been cancelled are now being paid.

Traffic Camera Fines

Camera fines issued in respect of the average speed prosecution cameras are now forwarded to the PTEU for execution. The average speed cameras are fixed along the National routes within the Province.
In the past the Traffic Camera Office relied on the Regions to assist them in serving the notices. The regions are not in a position to assist with TCO fines and the PTEU was approached to assist with the matter.
The PTEU has successfully dispensed with the task and the success rate of the return of service is currently 64%. This is noted as being the best return of service experienced by the TCO.