The Automobile Association is concerned that traffic law enforcers have started implementing the regulation banning stickers from the windows of vehicles. It plans to take the matter up at national level as motorists should be given a grace period.
The Automobile Association is concerned that traffic law enforcers have started implementing the regulation banning stickers from the windows of vehicles. It plans to take the matter up at national level as motorists should be given a grace period.
“We had a report of an AA member who was stopped at a roadblock and warned that if he didn’t remove the AA’s “Do not tow” decal from his rear window he will be fined R100.” said Petro Kruger, AA Divisional Manager of Corporate Affairs.
The AA said it would take this matter up with each of the nine provincial governments and on a national level. “We feel that motorists and vehicle owners should be given a grace period to remove graphics and stickers from the windows of their vehicles” Kruger said. “This is again an opportunity where quick money can be made off our motorists.”
“We feel that the enforcement of this regulation has been pulled out of proportion. The regulation was intended to address the problem experienced by traffic and police officials not being able to see inside of vehicles and was amended to include all advertising and graphics, but now it even applies to AA decals, which measure approximately three by six centimetres,” said Kruger.
Johannesburg Metro Police spokesman Wayne Minnaar said, however, that all stickers are not banned, just those with pictures on. He said the AA stickers were not a problem, but those that could obstruct the driver’s view, like a “Baby on Board” sticker or those advertising a product could result in a fine.
Gary Ronald, AA public affairs manager, said the law does not state that only stickers with pictures are illegal. The regulation stipulates, “No person shall operate on a public road any motor vehicle …if from 1 January 2000, any material or film, with a textured surface, displaying a picture or graphics is applied to a windscreen or window.”
Ronald said this law was “badly written and too obscure”. He said it did not serve the purpose for which it was drafted and needs to be amended. He said too many people, including traffic officials, were confused by the law.
The AA said the impact of this regulation was definitely not considered when the changes to the legislation were made, as the only exclusions are ambulances and hearses. The organisation said this means that many traffic police vehicles including Johannesburg Metro vehicles are contravening the very law, which they are enforcing.
