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Thread: Highway bandits in uniform

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Highway bandits in uniform

    One of my staff got a ticket for worn tyres whilst travelling this Easter weekend past.

    I'll concede the one tyre has worn right on the shoulder - less than 1cm wide on the shoulder of the tread is about 1.5mm deep. But the rest is 2.5mm minimum and there is no section of tread on the other tyre where the tread is less than 2.5mm deep. I know because the driver brought the vehicle to me on Thursday afternoon and we measured the tread. We had actually decided to replace the front tyres upon his return from the trip!

    Obviously my driver tends to corner aggressively when making right hand turns...

    The fine is R100 per offending tyre. Apparently the issuing traffic officer used no equipment to measure the depth of the tread, and in fact the fine does not state the depth of the tread for the tyres in question. But that isn't what bugs me.

    The one tyre I could accept. Fining the second tyre is highway robbery. But to contest the charge I'd have to make a return trip of over 200km.

    And I suspect that highway bandit in uniform knows it.

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    Here is a golden opportunity for you to say pay the fine and get new tires on. So you win because you don’t have to travel the distance, spend the money on petrol and all kinds of things right... Fact is we have potholes here that will destroy your car. No really a little water over it and you will crash your car it is that deep. We as a community started a local funding project so that we can fix the roads our selves. It was on the local Radio station too. But still a penalty system exists where a traffic-officer can use his super vision to detect if your car is road worthy or not. But even with a totally destroyed car you still have to prove your case in court!!!! So what do you think you must do ?

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Easy financial decision - pay the R200.00 - even though I know that the fine on the one tyre is totally bogus...

    Which of course encourages the fine art of extracting "extras"

    I wonder how many people who get questionable fines far from home just pay up because the cost of arguing the merits is higher than the cost of the fine?

    Or perhaps more interesting - I wonder if there is a deliberate strategy by these highway bandits to target people who are a long way from home because they know that it's going to be too much trouble to raise an objection?
    Quote Originally Posted by insulin View Post
    Fact is we have potholes here that will destroy your car.
    Funny you should mention that. Given the destination in this instance, it was the prospect of severe tyre damage that had me wanting to replace the tyres after the trip. If a tyre was going to get ripped, rather it was one I was going to replace anyway rather than a brand new one.

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    Gold Member garthu's Avatar
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    It probably wasn't really about the tyres? A R100 fine for a tyre, nothing to get fussed about, R200 starts becoming a problem. a R50 "spot" payment probably would have made it go away. The higher you make (or create) the fine, the closer you get to a spot payment.
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    Look I know it is bogus to fight about a R200 fine. However we also have to fight to get our tires replaced if potholes destroyed it. It is an even bigger problem if you crash your car because of a pothole. The point is the municipality will not pay if you don’t take them on... or that is my experience. So you go and argue the fact that the tires in question was still road legal or the one was and then you talk to your lawyer and see if you can’t get back the money you had to spend. I am sure this is possible. But the point I am trying to make is give them one hell of a time! And make them pay for it! Because when it is your car that is written off because the roads are not being fixed then than they will give you a nightmare pill or two and then only after months! Will you have success that is IF you are lucky... Still think it’s worth paying that R200?

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by insulin View Post
    Still think it’s worth paying that R200?
    Afraid so.

    And being able to bitch on the forum about it eases the pain too

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    Yea well cannot argue with that now can I. However, I would also have paid the fine... Still and this is the thing I don’t get... You got a fine for tires and come Saturday night all will go out to the local watering hole and drink themselves into or out of depression. Then they get in there cars think they are in a Movie and drive home speeding all the way! Then about 10min later you get your ambulance running up and down for the rest of the night. Now correct me if I am wrong but where the hell are the metro-police then? Of sleeping at home while mindless drivers are drinking and driving with no problem at all. So I question the metro-police’s logic on that one. Jus set up a road block and you will have write more fines in one night than what they would in one month and the roads will actually be safe!

    Interesting...
    Last edited by insulin; 16-Apr-09 at 10:29 AM. Reason: spelling mistake again

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