Let's park the vehicle modification saga

I am compelled to once again underscore the City of Cape Town's position on modified vehicles, amid ongoing confusion and concern in motoring circles sparked by an erroneous news article a week ago. The impact of the article has been very damaging to the City and we continue to be inundated with enquiries, complaints and threats from irate vehicle owners.

There are three areas of concern that need clearing up:

That modifying your vehicle will be illegal because of legislation that the City intends introducing

What constitutes illegal modifications and the policing thereof

What the City's plans are to clamp down on illegal street racing

In my initial response to the media article that sparked the furore, I made it very clear that we have no plans to ‘target' the owners of modified vehicles, as implied in the report. There is also no intention to ‘clamp down' on vehicle modifications. The City has been doing consistent enforcement of the existing national legislation for decades and a consistent number of vehicles have their roadworthy certificates suspended every year. These numbers have been steady under both DA and ANC administrations in the City.

Vehicle modifications and roadworthiness are governed by national legislation and standards - the City of Cape Town has neither the power nor inclination to change the existing legislation and our staff will continue to enforce the laws as they have been doing for many years, and as spelled out in the South African National Road Traffic Act No. 63 of 1996.

There is no special emphasis on checking for modifications - in almost all instances, modified vehicles that are suspended from the road are ones where the drivers have been caught participating in illegal street races. In fact, it is worth noting that of the nearly 1,3 million transgressions recorded by Cape Town Traffic Services between July and December 2014, only 2 178 were related to vehicles that had been suspended from the road for being unroadworthy, i.e. not meeting safety standards as a result of modifications or wear-and-tear like balding tyres, defective brakes, etc. That is (on average) a mere 0,2% of all transgressions and hopefully puts the matter into perspective.

There have also been many questions about what constitutes legal modifications. According tonational legislation, modifications have to be done by the manufacturer or a registered vehicle body builder, after which the vehicle has to be re-registered and sent for clearance to the South African Police Service.

It is not the sale of vehicle parts that is potentially problematic, but rather the proper fitment. It is the responsibility of the vehicle owner to ensure that the fitment of the parts is done legally and in line with legislation. They can also seek advice and assistance from any authorised vehicle testing centre, registered manufacturer or vehicle body builder.

From an enforcement perspective, our traffic officers issue suspension notices to motorists where the roadworthiness of their vehicle is in question. They are required to present the vehicle for testing, free of charge, to a designated testing station within a prescribed period. If the vehicle is found to be unroadworthy, the licence disc and roadworthy certificate are destroyed and the vehicle is not allowed to be operated on a public road until such time as the defects have been addressed. Alternatively, the suspension notice is cancelled if the vehicle is found to be roadworthy.

In terms of illegal street racing, which continues to be a major problem with sometimes deadly consequences, we have lobbied for new regulations to be included in the Western Cape Provincial Road Traffic Act, including:

The impoundment of vehicles (modified or not) where owners are caught participating in illegal street races

Steep vehicle release fees to act as a further deterrent

Stricter penalties for motorists (including prison terms) - especially those who try to evade the law when confronted

Suitable penalties for spectators at illegal street races

I would encourage motorists and other interested parties to read through the National Road Traffic Act as it spells out in detail the do's and don'ts of vehicle modification (see here - PDF). I accept that there have been very valid arguments for permitting modifications that do not affect the safety systems of vehicles - however, this is a matter that should be taken up with the National Transport Ministry.

Statement issued by Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, City of Cape Town, January 29 2015

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