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Not so candid camera
| Date: |
29 March 2009 07:00 |
| Producer: |
Susan Purèn
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| Presenter: |
Devi Sankaree Govender
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| Researcher: |
Quereshini Naidoo
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| Show: | Carte Blanche |
Getting a speeding fine in the post can really spoil your day, especially if you're a law-abiding citizen who, as a rule, keeps to the speed limit.
But, there's your car captured on camera, and there's the notice says you were speeding: at a specific time, on a specific date, at a specific place.
Devi Sankaree Govender (Carte Blanche presenter): "We don't all react in the same way but it's safe to say that nobody wants to find this [speeding fine] in their mail. You feel irritated but also somewhat powerless because the evidence is right there and it does look as if you're guilty."
So, what do you do?
Well, some of us deal with the fine by simply sending off a cheque or you could also do a credit card transfer on the Internet.
You could also write a letter asking for mercy.
And then there's the other option: simply toss it the bin.
Devi: "Whatever you choose you just want it to go away. But getting rid of it completely may not be a good idea because this ticket could hold vital clues that could prove your innocence."
Ex-traffic cop Johan Steenkamp has made it his business to do just that. Over a period of five months he had fines to the value of R157 000 withdrawn by the Johannesburg Metro Police. Johan asked the right questions on behalf of his clients and was therefore able to point out mistakes on the tickets.
Devi: "That the courts then said, Yes, you are right. It was illegal'?"
Johan Steenkamp (Former traffic officer): "Exactly - and that's just between Randburg and Roodepoort."
Johan is a member of SITE, the Institute for the Scrutiny of Inequitable Traffic Enforcement.
It's a voluntary group that's lobbying for what they call 'the beleaguered South African motorist'.
The executive members are Bessie van Antwerp, Mike Tanski and a former chief provincial traffic cop, Dennis Jackson.
Dennis Jackson (Executive President: SITE): "We don't condone speeding or anybody breaking any laws. We would love it if the Metro did speeding fines and did it the way that it's supposed to be done."
Bessie van Antwerp: "I'm a hundred percent for law enforcement. But then it has to be just and fair, and in terms of the rules and laws laid down."
And that is how it's done, claims Director Gerrie Gerneke of the JMPD.
Gerrie Gerneke (Director: Johannesburg Police Department): "In the City of Johannesburg where we go to seven courts, we have not lost a single case where it was defended properly on a technicality."
But motorists who just pay their fines often overlook these so-called "technicalities".
Mike Tanski (Liaison Executive: SITE): "That ticket actually says you're guilty until you prove yourself innocent. And a lot of people don't even get that far - they run out and pay it. All along they've been guilty'."
Dennis: "You get this letter in the post. You have no latitude from which to form a case against it, because you cannot now go back a month before and see whether the camera was set up according to specifications."
The reliability of the system should not be in question, says the AA's Gary Ronald.
Gary Ronald (Public Affairs Manager: Automobile Association of SA): "Don't forget, very soon we're going to get the points demerit system coming into effect. And that will change the livelihoods of people. If you lose your licence, many people will be without a job. So it becomes critical that the system works and that the system is reliable, and it is trusted."
To prove their point SITE members are literally taking the bull by the horns.
They have four areas of concern: The competency of the officers, the evidence that they produce and the way they intimidate motorists to pay their fines.
Mike: "Number four is the blatant lack of respect that the authorities have for something called the TCSP - which is the document drawn up for the technical committee of standards and procedures."
Devi: "You may not have heard of the TCSP but it's a set of prosecution guidelines that's been around for a long time. The Constitution says that you're innocent until proven guilty and if you want to prove that in the case of a traffic fine, best you get a copy of this."
But just make sure you have the latest version because these guidelines have changed several times in the past few years and specifications that applied in 2002 had fallen away by 2007. So what are the current legal requirements when holding a speed trap?
Gerrie: "Every officer will have a file - this is the file for camera number 60. The camera will obviously have to have the SANS calibration certificate. The officer will also have an operator's certificate - this is specifically for the Safe-T-Cam camera. And it is given to him by the developer and the manufacturer of the camera. If he wants to operate another camera, he has to have an operator's certificate for that specific camera as well."
Also needed is a scope alignment test.
Gerrie: "This is a copy of the officer's field sheet. There is the zero velocity test recorded on the hard drive of the camera to ensure that the speed of that wall is recorded at zero kilometres an hour; the first vertical test at the site, and the last scope alignment test that has been done on site."
Many motorists are not aware that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions needs to approve speed trap sites.
Gerrie: "This officer is quite prepared - he has all the legal sites. Should he have a query with the sites, he has all his approved sites - in terms of the location code. This officer will have the TCSP guidelines - he will be able to clarify that on site should there be a dispute."
Well, that's the theory, but what happens in practice?
Devi: "Hello, how are you?"
Traffic officer 1: "Fine and you?"
Devi: "Devi from Carte Blanche. I just wanted to check your documentation."
This camera was out of order, but it had a calibration notice on its side. These two officers said they were trainees, but along with their supervisor, they showed us five different operator certificates. They had brought along spare documentation.
Devi: "What has happened is that I now have three operation certificates, I have two IDs... three operation certificates, three JMPD officers. But one of the certificates doesn't match - it's somebody else's. I don't know whose."
Gerrie: "A field sheet is not for the machine - it's for the operator. So each one of them should have had their own field sheet."
Devi: "They didn't."
Gerrie: "They cannot download without it. There must have been somewhere - maybe she didn't understand you. You must also understand that a lot of our officers have been under great pressure lately, because there are some private individuals that come and dictate, and shout and scream in a very rude fashion."
But the public has a right to stop and ask these questions.
Gerrie: "Obviously if you can pull your vehicle over in a safe position, approach the officer in a safe area - and that will normally be in a 60km area - there is no objection in doing that."
The JMPD has 90 speed cameras, and we paid surprise visits to a few of them. With the exception of one, the officers all had the correct papers at hand. But this one, on an overpass on the N1, was illegal.
Devi: "Hello... hi guys."
The tripod was half inside the vehicle with one leg outside on the road, completely against what is prescribed by the TCSP.
Devi: "The tripod must be mounted on a firm and stable surface..."
This man didn't like the fact that we caught them red-handed and he went straight for one of our cameras.
The skirmish moved dangerously close to the rail of the bridge.
The officer would not let go and carried on being aggressive.
Devi: "Calm down, let me tell you why we are here. I am trying to tell you! My patience is wearing thin with you. You stay out of it, I am talking to these ladies here, we're not screaming at them. What I am saying to you is, because you represent the JMPD, you are servants of the public to enforce traffic laws - am I right?"
Finally the officer leaves, but not before a last attempt to intimidate us.
Devi: "I am warning you, my friend!"
Gary: "The issue around speed trapping is a contentious one, and has been for a very long time. We certainly feel as an organisation we're getting enough motivation from motorists that are fed-up with the system and how they are actually being milked. So the motivation behind speed prosecutions in particular is actually angled the wrong way. It is not based on safety - it is based on a guaranteed revenue."
Dennis: "They bank on the fact that people will do the right thing and go and just pay the fine, but if the public has to stop and look at what is actually going on, and the methods being used, there are so many anomalies, and we just feel that the public has a right to know what is actually going on, and how they are being defrauded with these speeding tickets."
In Johannesburg, speeding fines are a huge source of income for the Metro. More than 1.2-million tickets, worth no less than R300-million, were issued in the three months between August and October last year. The city relies on this income.
Gerrie: "It is part and parcel of the general income of the City of Johannesburg. And that is used for various projects to fund expenditure of the city."
Devi: "The JMPD says they've got nothing to hide and invited us on a tour to see how the system works."
This is a live feed from the camera to the control room.
Gerrie: "This vehicle was caught at 78km p/h in a 60km zone in locations number 693 which is a registered DPP approved. The operator of the camera is that, the direction is away from the camera, and it is infringement number 362. As the vehicle is snapped, this [points at information on screen] is married with this [points at snapshot of vehicle]. Nobody can change that again."
But before a fine is sent out, it goes through three screening processes. These photographs are examples of pictures that should not make it to your postbox: obstruction; lane crossing; double-take; distance. The operator then logs the registration number of the car in the picture.
Gerrie: "Now she'll type it in for a second time, now she sees what she has typed. If those two don't balance, it will reject it, so it tells her there is a capturing error."
The next step is to activate the eNatis system. eNatis will link us overnight to a registered owner and the last address you gave us when you registered or renewed your vehicle licence. It will add the information in terms of eNatis. It will now tell us this is a Volkwagen Polo, it belongs to such and such a person, at that and that address - business address, home address."
A metro police official then approves the fine, which is printed, rechecked and posted. But Gerrie is the first to admit that human error often creeps in.
Gerrie: "All I can say to you is that no fine will be cancelled because we didn't have an operator certificate, we didn't do the calibration test or we were not in a position in a process in a court of law to give the technical evidence, as requested by the TCSP."
So, check your tickets; don't be intimidated. And remember - it is your right to ask questions.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:While every attempt has been made to ensure this transcript or summary is accurate, Carte Blanche or its agents cannot be held liable for any claims arising out of inaccuracies caused by human error or electronic fault. This transcript was typed from a transcription recording unit and not from an original script, so due to the possibility of mishearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, errors cannot be ruled out.
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