The City of Cape Town’s Enforcement Agencies are on the prowl for any illegal street racing and have stepped up patrols in dicing hot spots around the City.
Areas in Ottery, Athlone, Grassy Park, Milnerton, Bothasig, Mitchells Plain, Belhar and Bellville South are closely monitored and dicers face serious charges if caught, it warns.
“It’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, because they change locations regularly as well as the days of the week to try and throw us off, but our officers stay on the prowl and are usually able to spoil the party,“ says Mayoral Committee Member for Social Services and Safety, JP Smith.
Between January 2015 and January 2016, officers recorded 26 977 street racing offences, and made 234 arrests for reckless and negligent driving, 638 for drunk driving, while 988 fines were issued to unlicensed drivers.
A further 42 arrests were made for other criminal offences.
Smith says: “We’ve seen a reduction in the prevalence of illegal street racing. That’s due in part to our ongoing enforcement efforts, but also the robot racing events at Killarney race track that allow car enthusiasts to race against each other on a track instead of the street.
“However, as the statistics show, we still have a massive challenge with those who insist on turning public roads into a very dangerous playground.
“We’ve also started rolling out dashboard cameras in our traffic vehicles and more will follow. This should make prosecution in reckless and negligent driving cases much
easier."