A guide to our current speeding fine system

By Lawrence Minnie

 

Speeding fines are an unavoidable part of motoring. Love them or loathe them speeding fines happen and it may be a good thing to know how the law interprets them and what constitutes speeding in the first place.

The Administrative Adjudication of Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) makes allowance for the following, for law enforcement.

Speeding Cameras

Speeding cameras are how law enforcement catch you. There are three types of cameras that you will encounter.

There is the stationary camera. These are speed cameras that are erected at permanent locations, usually painted bright yellow or olive green. These cameras take a picture of the speeding vehicle, and then a Section 341 notice is posted to the registered owner of the offending vehicle. The fines from these cameras are usually very high as these cameras are highly visible and usually placed in high- traffic risk areas.

The second type of camera is the tripod-mounted type that is linked to a laptop. These are usually unmanned units often posted behind road signs and under bridges on freeways or busy main routes. In the same system as before a Section 341 notice is issued to the offending motor vehicle.

The third type of camera is the manned unit. These cameras are operated by officers who will pull over the offending motor vehicle and issue a written Section 56 notice to the driver. This a is a “do not pass go” summons, and failure to pay or appear in court results in a warrant of arrest. These units are usually found on busy routes and residential areas.

Speed metering

With any technology there has to be an allowance for calibration of equipment and an allowance for discrepancy between the speedometer of the car and the measuring equipment. As such the AARTO act allows for a 10% difference.

This means that if the speed limit is set 120km/h and your vehicles speedometer is off by 7km/h and the radar or camera snaps you doing 127km/h, the system lets it slide. This does not mean that you can do 127km/h because the calibration of your vehicle might truly be out and then you will be caught speeding!

The actual costs involved with speeding fines vary from province to province but generally speaking if you are caught at 10km/h over the limit you can expect anywhere from R250 to R400 as a penalty. Depending on location of the speeding zone 20km/h over can result in a much heavier financial penalty or imprisonment. As a rule exceeding twice the limit will see you immediately locked up in the nearest jail.

Been fined, now what?

Receiving a fine is never fun and should be viewed in a serious light; very shortly a new points demerit system will be set in place seeing points deducted from drivers until their license is revoked.

If you feel that the fine was incorrectly issued you do have the option of making representation to the courts, but a failure here will see you with a criminal record. More often than not, the officers know where they can fine motorists and will be well within the rule of law when setting up trapping spots and equipment.

The easiest and simplest way to avoid being fined is to obey the traffic law and stick to the posted speed limit. If you are caught speeding take it as a warning, pay your fine and try to not do it again.