Traffic Fines

Along with crime prevention and by-law enforcement, a core responsibility of the JMPD is traffic policing.

All uniformed JMPD officers are empowered to issue traffic fines and they undergo extra training in criminal law, community policing and police ethics.

Parking offences

A fine of R200 is issued for illegal parking. However, according to JMPD's spokesman, Wayne Minnaar, a parking ticket can be contested in court.

Common parking offences you could be ticketed for include:

• Parking within nine metres of a pedestrian crossing - R200 fine;
• Parking on the same side as a fire hydrant - R200 fine;
• Parking on a pavement - R200 fine;
• Stopping on the right hand side of a road facing oncoming traffic - R200 fine; and
• Obstructing an entrance - R300 fine.

Traffic tickets

A traffic ticket issued by an officer qualifies as a summons to appear in court. The ticket will stipulate the admission of guilt fine to be paid by the offender and the date of the court appearance, should the motorist want to contest the alleged offence.

Paying traffic fines

Traffic tickets can be paid at one of five JMPD offices:

• At the Midrand Court;
• At the Marlboro Testing Station in Sandton;
• At Randburg;
• At the Roodepoort Court; and
• In the CBD at the JMPD headquarters on the corner of Village Main and Loveday streets.

The offices are open between 7.30am and 3pm every weekday.

For more information contact 011 375 5555.

It is generally recommended that fines are paid in cash, to avoid inconvenience. Other forms of payment accepted by the court are money orders, postal orders or bank guaranteed cheques. Such payments must be made well before the payment date to reach the payment office on time.

Postal payments can also be made before the date of payment to: Metropolitan Police, Private Bag X24, 2000.

A cheque must be made payable to the authority mentioned in part D of the ticket.

Motorists are warned against paying traffic fines through independent companies that claim to pay the traffic fine for a fee, via Internet or telephonic transactions, as this is "done at your own risk". If the company does not pay the fine and a warrant of arrest is issued, the motorist can land up in jail.

Impounded cars

Cars parked illegally around Johannesburg may be towed away and impounded by the JMPD. To have the car released, the owner must pay a R525 impounding fee at the JMPD headquarters, located at the corner of Village Main Road and Eloff Street Extension in the city centre. The department does not use clamps but some shopping centres do.

Camera trapping

Motorists caught on camera while speeding are sent a notice of the alleged offence. They can choose either to pay that amount or wait until a summons is hand-delivered to their home address by a sheriff of the court. Those who want to see the photo of their alleged violation can do so at the JMPD headquarters at no cost.

Motorists who wish to dispute the charges must inform the prosecutor of the traffic court in writing, well in advance of the trial date. Those who have missed the deadline for paying the contempt of court fine, but still wish to pay their fine on or before the date of their court appearance, can do so at Room B41 at the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.

Cellphones can also be used to enquire about fines for speeding or going through red lights. Motorists can SMS their identity numbers to 36997; they will be given a pin number that is used to process the query.

Contesting your fine

Motorists can go to the Magistrate's Court on the corner of Fox and Miriam Makeba streets in the inner city to apply to get their fines reduced, or motorists can send in written submissions contesting their fine to the prosecutions and licensing department's representation section.

For more information, an SMS can be sent to 36997.
Written submissions can be sent to: Deputy Director: Prosecutions, Private Bag X24, Johannesburg, 2000.

It takes about a week to process submissions as they go through various channels. First, a JMPD officer examines the circumstances surrounding the representation.

The document then goes to the public prosecutor, who has the final say. The verdict is then fed into the department's system and a letter is posted to the motorist's residential address.

But people who leave their representation too late could end up in jail. Motorists sometimes receive a summons to appear in court, but do not lodge a representation until the day before the trial date. They are under the impression that the fine will be scrapped or reduced, and they then miss the court date.

The Magistrate's Court has a special traffic court, court number 35 inside the main building, where traffic cases are heard. There are also magistrate's courts in Randburg, Roodepoort, Meadowlands and Midrand that also have their own traffic courts. Once the verdict is given, the accused will either have the fine withdrawn or be accompanied by a court orderly either to pay the fine or be taken into custody.

Contempt of court

Anyone who fails to appear in court on the date stipulated in the summons is held to be in contempt of court and is liable to a mandatory R300 contempt of court of fine. A court may also impose a stiffer sentence not exceeding R1 500 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.

For such cases, a warrant of arrest is issued. If arrested, the culprit can either pay the fine in full plus the contempt of court fine, or remain in custody until they appear in court the next day.

How the police track your fine

If you are fined while on holiday in Durban, it may take traffic authorities in Johannesburg a while to become aware of it. However, such information is stored on a common database called the National Traffic Information System.

Municipalities can feed their information on to the system and once a person has committed an offence, the car and its registration number are captured on the database and local authorities have access to the motorist's name and address. Summonses can then be sent to the appropriate address.

This, however, may take some time.

How a summons is served

By law, a summons must be served at your residential property. If you are not at home, the summons must be served on a person over the age of 16 who lives at or is employed on the premises.

What happens if you have not received your summons but are still arrested at a roadblock?

If there is an outstanding warrant for your arrest, the police can legally detain you for 48 hours before you appear before a magistrate.