ZLHR would accordingly like to clarify certain issues: –
• The only new piece of legislation relating to traffic offences that has been introduced since December 2015 is Statutory Instrument 129 of 2015 – the Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use) Regulations, 2015. These Regulations effectively reintroduce the provisions of Statutory Instrument 154 of 2010, which was struck down by the High Court in 2012 on very specific grounds, namely that the Regulations had been enacted by the ‘Ministry’ of Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development as opposed to the ‘Minister’, and purported to introduce the wholesale prohibition of left-hand drive vehicles, in contravention of the Road Traffic Act.
• The new Regulations do not introduce a new Schedule of Fines, as has been suggested in the media. The Minister of Finance and Economic Development recommended the raising of traffic fines in the 2016 National Budget Statement, but no new Schedule has been gazetted to give effect to the suggested fines. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) are accordingly still relying on a Schedule of Deposit Fines, issued in August 2013, and the fines in that Schedule do not exceed $20.
• Indeed, the ZRP cannot lawfully impose a spot fine above $20 (Level 3) as this is prohibited by Section 356 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act. Fines higher than level 3 can only be imposed by a magistrate after a court appearance. The maximum punishment that can be imposed by a magistrate for traffic offences under the Regulations is $200 (a Level 5 fine) and a period of imprisonment not exceeding six months, in terms of section 87 of the Regulations.
• Furthermore, it must be the initiative of the accused person to pay the fine instead of appearing in court. The police may not insist on the payment of a spot fine where the road user is not in a position to do so immediately or where the offence is being contested
Although the provisions are not new, ZLHR notes with concern that some of the requirements of the 2015 Regulations may be overly cumbersome for motorists, and may be arbitrarily enforced if appropriate discretion is not properly exercised by the authorities. Examples include that every vehicle:
• must carry warning triangles that are permanently and legibly marked with the name of manufacturer and year of manufacture (warning triangles complying with this requirement are not currently readily available),
• must carry a fire extinguisher of a type and make approved by the Standards Association of Zimbabwe, or any other International Standards Authority, with such approval visibly marked on the fire extinguisher (such fire extinguishers are not currently readily available or affordable),
• motorcyclists must wear safety helmets which [consist] of a shell made of fibre glass (the safest modern helmets are in fact made of carbon fibre) and trucks carrying large loads shall ensure that loads are covered by a waterproof tarpaulin or similar material at all times (even if the load is safely secured so as not to pose a risk to other motorists and there are no adverse weather conditions).
ZLHR also notes that the somewhat cumbersome provisions relating to the carrying of spare wheels, tools and fire extinguishers, though purportedly introduced to increase traffic safety, allow for exemptions for motor vehicles bearing foreign registration number plates that are in transit or on a temporary entry permit. If the requirements are genuinely for public safety, then it is submitted that they should be applied across the board, to all motorists.
In order for the traffic fines to be implemented fairly and in good faith, ZLHR calls on the ZRP, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, and other relevant authorities, to embark on a nationwide awareness campaign regarding the requirements of the 2015 Regulations and other legislation relating to traffic offences, such as the Road Traffic Act and the Road Traffic (Safety-belt) Regulations, 1987.
ZLHR also calls on the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, and other relevant authorities to ensure that all tools, fire extinguishers and equipment that motorists are now required to carry be made readily available and affordable to motorists, to ensure that they are in a position to comply with the law.
Most importantly, in imposing traffic fines, ZRP officers must exercise their duties in the interests of public safety and administrative justice, refraining from imposing unlawful spot fines and rejecting all forms of bribery and corruption.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights