You can shout, wave your fist and even shoot at it, but three vandal-proof speed cameras will be transmitting transgressions on the new Gonubie Main Road to Buffalo City Metro’s traffic cops.
BCM spokesman Sibusiso Cindi said the 4.5km stretch of road was such a raceway that even before the R150-million major upgrade, the traffic department had been battling to cope with dangerous driving behaviour.
This week, Dawie de Beer, production and project manager of Truvelo in Pretoria, was seen installing the three cameras with his colleagues.
He said the stout camera boxes bolted onto metal pillars were built to be vandal-proof, and could even withstand shots from handguns.
They cost a few hundred thousand rand and hundreds had been installed in South Africa, Mauritius and the UK.
Once a motorist was captured going 10% faster than the speed limit, images and data were encrypted and transmitted to a BCM traffic department office where they would be decrypted and fines made out.
He expected to be setting the trip limit at 80km/h.
Cindi said: “Throughout the works, the contractor’s construction team has been exposed to motorists completely ignoring the posted speeds.”
He said data samples taken had indicated that numerous vehicles were speeding and there had been an “excessive” number of speeding-related accidents.
The BCM traffic department and transport planners had agreed to set up the cameras.
“The traffic department could not safely carry out manual speed checking even before the road was upgraded.”
De Beer said officers would have to be trained to use the cameras, and Cindi said the cameras would only come into operation after the roadworks were “practically complete” in mid-August.
Gonubie Ratepayers’ Association chairman Andre Swart said: “I can categorically state that road users have no respect for the speed limit.”
Nowhere to hide from hi-tech cameras
BCM spokesman Sibusiso Cindi said the 4.5km stretch of road was such a raceway that even before the R150-million major upgrade, the traffic department had been battling to cope with dangerous driving behaviour.
This week, Dawie de Beer, production and project manager of Truvelo in Pretoria, was seen installing the three cameras with his colleagues.
He said the stout camera boxes bolted onto metal pillars were built to be vandal-proof, and could even withstand shots from handguns.
They cost a few hundred thousand rand and hundreds had been installed in South Africa, Mauritius and the UK.
Once a motorist was captured going 10% faster than the speed limit, images and data were encrypted and transmitted to a BCM traffic department office where they would be decrypted and fines made out.
He expected to be setting the trip limit at 80km/h.
Cindi said: “Throughout the works, the contractor’s construction team has been exposed to motorists completely ignoring the posted speeds.”
He said data samples taken had indicated that numerous vehicles were speeding and there had been an “excessive” number of speeding-related accidents.
The BCM traffic department and transport planners had agreed to set up the cameras.
“The traffic department could not safely carry out manual speed checking even before the road was upgraded.”
De Beer said officers would have to be trained to use the cameras, and Cindi said the cameras would only come into operation after the roadworks were “practically complete” in mid-August.
Gonubie Ratepayers’ Association chairman Andre Swart said: “I can categorically state that road users have no respect for the speed limit.”
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