Joburg’s plan to fix traffic

The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is urging people to apply to work as pointsmen, a position which untrained people would often take up illegally in order to make extra money.

In South Africa’s richest city, hundreds of traffic lights are non-functional due to electricity problems, damage, and vandalism.

The Johannesburg Roads Agency’s (JRA) acting head of mobility and freight, Sipho Nhlapo, estimated on Newzroom Afrika that around 396 traffic lights in the city are vandalised.

Some believe the number to be even higher. For example, Joburg councillor and Roads and Transport Portfolio Committee member in the metro, Sean Kreusch, estimated that there are around 500 signals that have just been left on the side of the road and ignored.

By law, the authority to direct traffic falls to uniformed officers. However, since 2005, the OUTsurance Pointsmen Project has helped to alleviate traffic congestion, contributed towards road safety and created job opportunities.

However, as the state of Joburg’s traffic signals has declined over the years, so has the demand for more pointsmen.

As a result, unlicensed individuals will often direct traffic without receiving permission or remuneration from the city to earn extra money.

Although the JRA is working alongside the city to repair several traffic lights around Joburg, it will take time and tens of millions to bring many of the signals online, especially since the damage at certain intersections is quite extensive.

Recently, the JMPD opened applications for those interested in becoming pointsmen. The position requires applicants to have a minimum of grade 10, with no criminal record.

These short-term contracts do not exceed 12 months and offer compensation of R110.88 an hour with no additional benefits.

The key duties of the pointsmen include –

• Traffic management and control – Directing traffic and ensuring smooth vehicular movement at busy intersections.
• Community participation – Engaging in community-related activities to improve public safety and promote the principles of Batho Pele (People First).
• School patrols – Assisting school children and ensuring their safety when crossing roads near schools.

This is part of an ongoing effort from the city, which also introduced 200 JMPD Traffic Pointsmen at the start of last year, to alleviate traffic challenges in Johannesburg, particularly during load-shedding and malfunctioning traffic signals

“Led by Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, MMC for Public Safety, this significant launch addresses the impact of load shedding and traffic light inefficiencies on the city’s road networks,” the city said.

“The deployment of trained Traffic Pointsmen aims to proactively minimise disruptions and elevate the commuting experience for residents and visitors.”

The City of Johannesburg’s MMC for Safety and Security, Mgcini Tshwaku, explained that these official pointsmen were given a list of problematic areas “where there’s always vagrants that are controlling the traffic” so that they could control these parts.

Given how persistent Joburg traffic can be, the presence of illegal pointsmen comes as a relief to many drivers.

However, the CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, has warned drivers to be wary of illegal pointsmen.

“It is extremely dangerous for untrained individuals to direct traffic in some of the busiest and most complex intersections in South Africa,” Herbert said.

“Official pointsmen and traffic officers receive training to safely direct drivers and decrease the risk of collision. Illegal pointsmen have neither the training nor the authority to do the same.”

There has been speculation that some of these illegal pointsmen have been disconnecting traffic signals in order to create an opportunity to earn some extra money.

As a result, the City of Johannesburg has asked motorists not to tip them.

“If they are involved in disconnecting the lights, removing the financial benefit will discourage this,” Herbert said. “This can be difficult as there are reports that some illegal pointsmen get aggressive and even violent if not tipped.”

He added that drivers should not give these pointsmen the same faith they give trained officials.

“Even those with training in alleviating traffic flow recognise there is a higher risk of collisions under manual direction. Never proceed through an intersection with blind trust.”

“Check all directions as you would if there was no one directing traffic. Remember, an illegal pointsman has no legal authority either.”

“If you proceed despite seeing a potential collision, neither authorities nor insurers will care that you were directed to do so by an illegal pointsman.”