Why Joburg's roadblock outrage misses the point

The Citizen

a day ago

Complaints about JMPD's unplanned roadblocks overlook the truth: follow the rules and there's nothing to fear.
There was a fascinating report in The Citizen last week about complaints that unscheduled JMPD roadblocks were being used as a cash cow to generate revenue for the cash-strapped City of Joburg.
For once, it's difficult to not come down on the side of our traffic cops. It's their job to enforce bylaws and issuing fines is one of the key income creators for any municipality and has been since apartheid days.
There were many smaller municipalities where it was almost impossible to get from A to B without being stopped by a zealous traffic cop.
Back in the '70s and '80s, there were boetebessies in the Free State, meter maids to use another antediluvian expression, who – much like Maggie Thatcher – were ladies not for turning or even negotiating with once the top of their ballpoint pens were off.
There's no doubt that roadblocks, especially the unplanned ones – which the disinterested observer might have thought was the point – are disruptive.
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As always, Joburgers don't do well when things don't go their way.
Rain makes us drive faster and more recklessly, amber traffic arrows are just an excuse to turn on red, when it's green for the oncoming vehicles.
As for roadblocks, you're lucky not to get crushed in the rush of taxis and other miscreants doing U-turns to go the other way.
A DA councillor complained that these roadblocks 'foster abuse, selective enforcement and an erosion of public trust'.
It's very ambitious of him to assume there was any trust to erode in the first place.
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As for selective enforcement, it's a step up from no enforcement.
The elephant in the room, of course, is that if your vehicle is licensed, if your driver's licence is up-to-date and you have no outstanding fines against your name (a simple thing to check on www. finessa.com) there should be nothing to worry about.
It's a very different thing when you are arbitrarily pulled over to be told you jumped a red traffic light or were bust speeding by a manually set up speed camera.
Full-scale roadblocks shouldn't be a hill for opposition politicians to die on. There are far worse issues in our city – like the swathes of darkness at night that make it perilous for drivers navigating invisible potholes – and even worse for pedestrians trying to get to work or get home.
It's a counter-productive dog whistle.
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