The City of Cape Town’s Traffic Service arrested 82 motorists on a range of charges during special operations in the last week. This includes two suspects who were arrested by traffic officers following up on a slew of complaints about illegal street racing this past weekend. They were among 82 motorists arrested by the City’s Traffic Service in the last week. Read more below:
This week’s operations included 29 arrests for drunk driving, 13 for reckless and negligent driving and 39 arrests for outstanding warrants.
Officers also served nearly 350 warrants and released 130 motorists on a warning as part of the sustainable warrant enforcement operation launched on Tuesday 26 February 2019.
‘This is a timely reminder to motorists to please check whether they have any outstanding fines or warrants. The head in the sand approach will not work, I’m afraid. There is a higher risk of being tracked down and prosecuted than there is of us forgetting about you, especially considering the technology that is in place to check for outstanding warrants. So please, do the right thing and pay your traffic debt,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
The Ghost Squad also had its hands full, with numerous complaints about illegal street racing.
On Saturday 2 March 2019:
Officers responded to a complaint along Ladies Mile Road in Bergvliet. While they didn’t observe any evidence of racing, they arrested two drivers on charges of drunk and reckless and negligent driving following a collision on the Ladies Mile slipway onto the M3
Officers arrested two drivers for reckless driving and numerous moving violations while attending to a complaint in Lake Road, Grassy Park
Officers arrested five drivers for drunk driving while attending to a complaint of illegal street racing on the R44 in Somerset West
On Sunday 3 March 2019, officers were tipped off about illegal ‘spinning’ events at sports fields in Tafelsig and Lentegeur. They came across a hive of activity in Lentegeur and managed to shut down the area. It was during this operation that a driver was arrested with a breath alcohol content that was nine times over the legal limit. Seventeen vehicles were also suspended from operating on public roads for being unroadworthy.
‘We cannot condone illegal gatherings where public safety is put at risk. The City has a system that allows for event applications and we are more than happy to walk organisers through the process and assist where possible,’ added Alderman Smith.
Elsewhere, the Metro Police Department arrested a further seven motorists for driving under the influence during a roadblock in Hout Bay. The suspects, aged between 22 and 62, were detained at the local police station. The highest reading on the night was 0,53mg/L, just over twice the legal breath alcohol limit.
In Woodstock, a thief got a jump start when he was caught in the act on camera stealing a car battery from a vehicle in Devon Road. Camera operators spotted him opening the bonnet of a vehicle just before 03:00 and alerted local police officers. The 36-year-old suspect was found in possession of a brick and a battery. He was arrested on charges of possession of suspected stolen property and theft out of a motor vehicle.
Source: City Of Cape Town