Dear Editor,
Whilst the speeding and recklessness continues on our roads, (moreso with the minibuses), and the carnage seems to continue unabated, it seems as though the traffic police at the Alberttown Police Station have a different approach to ease road accidents.
The traffic ranks seclude themselves down in Fourth Street, whilst watching the junction of Fourth and Albert Street like hawks, waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting driver who fails to dead stop at the junction, then the terrorising starts – this is not a ticket offence, you have to go to court and tell the magistrate why you failed to stop at the major road, which is a dangerous offence, etc.
Now, Editor, I would like to point out that all four streets at this junction have speed humps, so when you’re driving north on Albert Street and you approach the junction, as soon as your front wheels cross the speed hump, you’re at the stop line, and the three other approaches are clearly visible (no obstructions), so it’s natural that you continue to turn as the roads are visibly clear, and you cannot drive at any speed due to the humps. You cannot go as fast as five km/h over these humps, yet these officers take you into the traffic department and delay you for long periods, whilst terrorising you about the courts and lockups, etc.
It would be interesting to check how many charges were actually made for this offence, as they have stopped lots of vehicles for this. I personally feel that this is a most unscrupulous and unreasonable way to fleece people of their hard-earned money. I also think that this specific law should be reviewed, as many drivers would testify that you can approach a junction and can see that the roads are clear without having to dead stop.
Yours faithfully,
D. Persaud
