Imagine your system is so broken that you have to outsource your traffic fines to private companies. These private companies have negotiated a rate with the traffic department so the 50% fine that you pay is actually far less as they also take their cut of commission for getting the fine paid. One would imagine it must be more than 10% and maybe as much as 25%.
I am not sure if the deal still stands with traffic fines that if you paid the fine within 30 days you would only pay half or 50%. It could still be part of the traffic department deal, but I have never been given a fine personally by a traffic cop for a good 10 years now.
This is the company we use around the corner from us as they have a retail shop at the local shopping center. They handle all your traffic needs like renewing a motor license disc which can only be processed if there are no outstanding fines. This is when you find out whether you have any from the last year and have to pay the full price getting your vehicle license renewed.
I find it puzzling that the traffic department offers these private companies the opportunity to earn commission on their fines knowing that any vehicle with outstanding fines cannot be renewed if they are not paid. One would have to think it was some bright government official who has spotted an opportunity and opened a business to skim the money for themselves. Nothing else makes sense as what country would allow this type of private business to happen?
Traffic fines in 2024 generated around R6.3 billion in revenue for the local municipalities so this figure would have been much higher if companies are swooping in making a commission reducing the fines by 50%. There must be billions being paid out in commissions or these companies would not be offering this service.
Our local license renewal shop called Fine-Aly must have a deal with the traffic department for collecting outstanding fines which they do when renewing license discs which is your road tax for the year. This last renewal we did earlier in the year we had to pay in an extra R1800 for traffic offenses which we had no idea were even outstanding.
The system is so broken the traffic fines do not even reach your home address so you could even question them. I can recall the last one I received was over 10 years ago and it was a fine in a place I had not visited for a very long time and was obviously not me. This was a court summons which I ignored this and have heard nothing since and must have fallen by the wayside by now.
The system is broken and why it is easy to jump through the red tape loops and why corruption is rampant. What is worrying is the system is now working on a 12 point system like they have in the UK so every fine you receive over a 12 month period could be points being docked off your license. The problem is you would not even be aware of this until you go and renew your vehicle road tax disc.
