Cape Town: The City of Cape Town will have sufficient capacity and is ready for the roll-out of the new traffic regulations which are expected to come into effect soon, according to JP Smith, the City’s Mayco member for Safety and Security.

Smith was responding to an enquiry from TygerBurger after the safety and security portfolio committee approved the amended traffic by-law at a special meeting on Wednesday 13 May.

Safety and security

“The by-law amendments have been approved by the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee and the Mayoral Committee. The next step is for the amendments to go before a full sitting of Council for approval. Once that is achieved, it will need to be gazetted. The amended by-law will come into effect once it has been gazetted – hopefully within the next few months,” Smith said to TygerBurger.

Dangerous behaviour

The amendments aim to help reduce dangerous behaviour among road users, regulate vehicle safety and traffic use, and provide for increased vehicle impoundment and nuisance control in public transport operations.

Central to the amendments are provisions for impounding vehicles and imposing related penalties. These include vehicles used in illegal street racing; cases where the driver is under the influence of alcohol or drugs or does not possess a valid driver’s licence; situations where a vehicle is driven recklessly on a public road in a manner that poses an immediate or imminent danger to passengers, other road users or pedestrians; and vehicles fitted with false number plates.

Causing excessive noise

Following the conclusion of the public participation process, one additional provision was included allowing for the impoundment of vehicles operated in contravention of Section 46 of the existing by-law by causing excessive noise.

Responding to reports that the City’s impound lots are already full, Smith confirmed that the Safety and Security Directorate is working to secure additional pound space.

“In the interim, we have two impound facilities in Maitland and Ndabeni, and our efforts also include identifying ways to better maximise these spaces,” he said.

Roadworthy tests only at City testing centres

One of the amendments to the existing by-law stipulates that a vehicle declared unroadworthy may not be tested by a private testing centre and then returned to the road. These vehicles may only be tested at a traffic department testing centre to obtain a roadworthy certificate, Smith said previously.

He added: “It is unfortunately the case that there are places issuing roadworthy certificates for vehicles that are not roadworthy. Vehicles are even taken outside the metro’s boundaries to obtain these certificates illegally.”

Impound release fee

On fears of a backlog at testing centres of the City’s traffic department Smith said there are no backlog at City testing centres.

“We currently have two centres in Bellville and Durbanville that are available to the public, alongside many private service providers. Two more centres will be operational by the end of this month in Goodwood and Kuils River.”

He confirmed the impoundment release fee for all classes of vehicles in the 2025/26 financial year is R2 500, excluding storage fees and any fines related to the offence for which the vehicle was impounded.

“In instances where public transport vehicles do not have valid operating permits, the impoundment release fee is R7 000.”

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