Cape Town safety boss JP Smith has received a lot of flak regarding the new impounding laws which the City has implemented.
A week ago, the City announced that it would be impounding vehicles under the Traffic by-law of 2021.
This means that motorists with missing number plates or number plates not securely attached to their vehicles would be fined and confiscated.
The impounding includes unroadworthy vehicles, unlicensed drivers, vehicles with defective lights, vehicles that do not comply with original SABS specifications, illegally modified and illegal street racers.
The Traffic by-law even covers being a spectator at illegal street racing events
Reckless and negligent driving or driving under the influence (DUI) can lead to arrest, but can also result in your vehicle being impounded.
However, Smith se woorde was skaars koud, when mense on social media called him out for allegedly skutting with a group of Porsche drivers whose vehicles broke the “missing number plate” law.
They accused Smith of going easy on larney car owners slide while gewone mense have to cough up thousands of rands to have their impounded cars released.
Brandon Lee Fielies wrote on Facebook: “Hies daai k** waarvan ek praat. So jy moet ma ‘n Porsche ry om in JP Smith se good books te wees?”
Bradley Jutzen wrote: “JP Smith, is this not a bit of double standards going on here? Were you not with the Porsche club today?
“I saw couple of them with no front or back plates but none of them got impounded, and we all know for a fact that they go faster than that lawnmower your team impounded.”
Smith quickly defended himself in a moerse long statement on social media, in an attempt to set the record straight.
“There is much praise for the improvement in road safety the by-law seeks to achieve, but there are a contingent that are offended by the enhanced enforcement powers,” Smith said in the post.
“I accepted an invitation to join members of the Porsche club at one of their events. I do not own a Porsche,” he continued.
“I own a much more affordable motor vehicle and have owned it for years and will likely continue to own the same one for some time.”
He said the gathering took place outside of the City’s municipal boundaries and jurisdiction.
“The vehicle that I was travelling in had both front and back number plates. As did other vehicles on the run.
Smith said he was informed about two vehicles that did not have number plates.
He enquired and found that one of the cars had a valid temporary permit and the second one joined the convoy during the run and was not there at the start.
“I did take up my concerns with the president of the motor club,” he explained.
“I also informed our traffic services of the incident and requested that they adequately enforce any event held by the Porsche or any other club, within the City of Cape Town municipal boundaries, to ensure compliance with the National Road Traffic Act and the City’s Traffic by-law.”