Mpimpa Hotline: A Success Story

Since its inception earlier this year, the Mpimpa Hotline has been meeting its aim to create millions of "volunteer" traffic officers in the form of all road users – pedestrians, passengers and motorists – to act together in unison and overcome the challenges posted by unbecoming road usage behaviour. Through the call centre every road user has the means to pull bad drivers off the road.

The high number of calls that are received by the Mpimpa Hotline indicates that there are many people in this province who are committed to road safety. Although the callers are entitled to remain anonymous, about 90% of them choose to give their names. Most of them said they were even willing to give evidence in court if they were required to do so.

In many cases the response of the alleged offenders have been positive. Once an alleged offender has received their letter making them aware of the fact that they have been reported, quite a lot of them have phoned to apologise and admit that they were in the wrong. Many vehicle fleet owners have also contacted us to let us know that their drivers have been disciplined as a result of these reports. We have also had taxi owners call us to say that they have disciplined their drivers.

The following are just a sample of the types of traffic offences that are received by the Mpimpa Call Centre:

A Port Shepstone motorist was driving on the N2 near Kokstad when a speeding BMW overtook him on a solid barrier line and nearly pushed his car off the road. The man then contacted the Mpimpa Call Centre and reported the incident giving a description and registration of the car. Police were alerted and a roadblock was set up. The BMW was stopped and it was found that the car had false number plates. The driver was arrested and charged for reckless and negligent driving and driving a car with false number plates. (It is mentioned that the car was fitted with personalised plates).

A concerned citizen phoned the Mpimpa Call Centre and reported his neighbour’s fourteen (14) year old son for driving his parent’s car every day after school around the neighbourhood. The parent of the teenager was contacted and after admitting that he was aware that his son regularly drove his car, he apologised profusely and promised that his son will have to wait until he is legally qualified to drive a car.

An off duty policeman reported a bakkie being driven dangerously after it overtook him at high speed. The registration number of the bakkie was checked on computer and it was found that the bakkie was stolen. The policeman gave chase and backup was called. The occupants of the bakkie abandoned the vehicle at the side of the road and fled into nearby bushes. The vehicle was returned to the rightful owner – no arrests have been made.

A motorist, who was fuelling his car at a Durban service station, reported the driver of an Uno after he counted at least thirteen (13) occupants in the Uno, which was parked next to his car. The thirteen (13) occupants were mostly children of varying ages, possibly from 4 to 12 years including the driver. The outcome was that a control car was sent out to locate the Uno, and after a long search it could not be located. Therefore a stern letter of warning was sent to the owner of the Uno, detailing the alleged offence that was committed, and also warning the driver of possible steps that will be taken against him in terms of the law.

A driver of a bakkie was reported by a very upset motorist after he witnessed the driver allegedly assaulting the passenger. After tracing and writing to the owner of the bakkie it was established that the driver was taking his colleague to a rehab centre for alcoholics. The passenger was attempting to jump out of the moving vehicle in order to avoid being booked into the rehab centre, which the driver was trying to prevent. The passenger was eventually persuaded by the driver not to jump. Feedback received from the driver is that his colleague is now undergoing treatment.

A Maritzburg man reported a friend’s father for driving without a valid driving licence. The caller provided the Mpimpa hotline with the identity number of the man and after checking the National Traffic Information System, it was confirmed that the man did not have a driving licence. The man was contacted and informed that driving without a licence was a serious offence and that Traffic authorities would be monitoring him. The man has since stopped driving and has booked to write his learner licence test.

These are just a few examples of many lives that were saved because you, the public, made road safety a priority in your life. The Department would like to take this opportunity of thanking all road users for their participation in reporting traffic offences and unbecoming road behaviour to the Mpimpa Hotline.

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