E-tolling or E Thief?

[Dave S]

Fortunately, I live only 10Km from work and I don't need to use a highway for this commute, the only time I use highways is when I need to visit family out on the farm, the rest all live in close proximity. When I do use a highway, I'm certainly not going to buy an e-tag, or a day-pass, they will have to invoice me, and if (that's a big if) their km's travelled matches my readings, I might pay, if the figures don't match, I won't, I'll just send them an e-mail stating that their figures are incorrect, they must correct the invoice before I pay.

[IanF]

Dave I also agree in the pragmatic approach. I offered to drop my daughter off at the airport early Saturday and can easliy avoid the tolls with a bit of planning.
But go through 1 or 2 tolls a month might be a plan. For business we don't need to use the tolls and for the PITA deliveries use a courier but there rates have gone up.

[Blurock]

Truth is learn to live with it. What else can we do? Clearly the decision was made not caring what we think. So based on what we know they will just use the law to hurt you so badly that you have to pay them... But then are we still a free country? Makes one wonder

Defeatist attitude? We have also learned to live with apartheid. Do we now have to learn to live with corruption too?

[Hermes14]

I went to pick n pay this morning & one of the tellers told me they had run out of etags.
Apparently there were jelly fish complaining that pick n pay weren't stocking enough etags.
Sanral claim the information you give them is safe.
They have lied about this & a whole lot of other things as well before.
Would you believe them now?
Good luck to you if you do but don't complain it your information is compromised.

[AndyD]

Defeatist attitude? We have also learned to live with apartheid. Do we now have to learn to live with corruption too?

South Africans are good at learning to live with things for a quiet life, for that matter so are the English but there was one tax that pushed them over the edge which was the poll tax. This tax was the straw that broke the camels back and I was involved in several protests about this tax whilst I was at Uni and they all ended up in pitched battles with the police.

These riots taught me a lot of things, they taught me how to roll over parked vehicles, how to make good Molotov coctails, how to deal with tear gas, it taught me a lot about crowd mentality and riot police mentality and strategies as well as how to survive overnight in a holding cell but most of all it taught me that even nationwide mass protests in the form of prolonged pitched police street battles didn't make the tax go away. Eventually the tax was called a different name but it's still around today in one form or another and all the burning cars in all the different cities made not one iota of difference in the long game.

I'm going to make some predictions, there's going to be a whole lot of rhetoric and some fairly mild initial resistance to buying the e-tags. After a month or two of using the minor roads and getting billed at double the e-tag prices 90% of the armchair terrorists are going to exit quietly stage left. There will be a very small minority, the kinds of people who usually pick up stray dogs and try find them homes who'll latch onto it as a 'worthy cause' and will show some long term backbone but they'll be occasional users who's business (or more likely vocational employment) doesn't depend on being streamlined and they won't even give the system a small migrane let alone a full blown headache that'll bring it to its knees. Tell you what, I'll come back in March or April and open a poll to find out how many people are still fighting the good fight .

[Justloadit]

Andy, SANRALand the politicians are counting on this, and use the words, that South Africans are law abiding citizens.

[Dave S]

Maybe this is why they want e-tolls?

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=fe1_1383365383

[IanF]

Dave brilliant video thanks for sharing. Will our public transport ever be up to our needs?

[IMHO]

Very interesting Andy. Let's hope you are right, because the alternative is very grave and can cause a lot of property damage and loss of human life. Cosatu announced they will start their actions in January, lets hope they are truthful. Another thing is, in your day, the security forces was better equipped and trained to handle these things. And what about the militancy of the protesters of today, dark forces at work to cause anarchy and trying to destabilize the country to take over government?

There is also those that reckon Mr Mandela's death is about to be announced. All military and police leave has been canceled for December as well. These things does not bode well. We know what the urban myth is saying and if we should have these two things happening at the same time, Gauteng, especially Johannesburg, can be in for a very rough time. The crucial timing is the long weekend coming up and the period immediately after.

We can only hope that Mr Mandela's family is honest in what they are saying about his health. The country definitely do not need this type of #$%.

[Dave S]

Dave brilliant video thanks for sharing. Will our public transport ever be up to our needs?

I doubt it, if you think of the cost implications, they're going to need a lot more than the tolls to finance it, do I perhaps see some more half-cocked ideas to fleece us coming soon?

[Citizen X]

The propaganda machine: Funny how Sanral would choose 3 December as a starting date, many companies are closed, schools are closed, many people are off on vacation. So common sense would tell me that the roads would be quieter. Let’s wait for next year to measure i.e. 3 December 2014.
Don’t rule out your many ‘Citizen X,’ personalities, “ yes, send me the invoice, send me the summons and by the way I’m disputing amounts and saying you can’t prove that my vehicle was caught on camera during that heavy fog and subsequent heavy storm(The weather angle)
Citizen e-tag(I buy my e-tag community). This is a mixed bag, senseless, making sweeping generalizations! But even some e-tag holders may just prove to be bad payers, we can only say come 3 December 2014

[IMHO]

Spot on Vanash. Timing is everything.

Funny how Sanral would choose 3 December as a starting date

[Dave S]

The propaganda machine: Funny how Sanral would choose 3 December as a starting date, many companies are closed, schools are closed, many people are off on vacation. So common sense would tell me that the roads would be quieter. Let’s wait for next year to measure i.e. 3 December 2014.
Don’t rule out your many ‘Citizen X,’ personalities, “ yes, send me the invoice, send me the summons and by the way I’m disputing amounts and saying you can’t prove that my vehicle was caught on camera during that heavy fog and subsequent heavy storm(The weather angle)
Citizen e-tag(I buy my e-tag community). This is a mixed bag, senseless, making sweeping generalizations! But even some e-tag holders may just prove to be bad payers, we can only say come 3 December 2014

I see where you're going with this, I too have pondered the significance of Dec. 3, and though the roads are getting quieter, I can't think of what angle (and there must be an angle) they are using that will benefit them at the elections, unless they're purposefully trying to get votes for Malema's party instead (?) At any rate, it's going to be an interesting year ahead.

[Justloadit]

SANRAL did not set the date, it was set by the minister of Transport, and was i day earlier than what the law stipulates. It required 14 days after the date of announcement, and yet when the Freedom Front present it's case to the judge, the judge stated that it was not urgent as it could be stopped at a later date. Now tell me that there is no underhand coalition here between government and justice?

And if it stopped at a later date, does that mean that SANRAL will return the money it has collected to that date?

[Dave S]

...and if it stopped at a later date, does that mean that SANRAL will return the money it has collected to that date?

Yeah, and I saw a pink elephant fly over my house last night, he also had a band of blue pigs with him...