NO FINES FOR RUNNING EMPTY

Rob Handfield-Jones, MD of driving skills company, driving.co.za, has issued a rebuttal to JMPD spokesperson, Wayne Minaar, who has claimed it is an offence to run out of fuel and that a fine of between R500 and R1 000 will be issued in addition to towing and recovery costs. A 'special team' is said to have been formed by the JMPD to deal with the issue.

Handfield - Jones said that he had confirmed with the SABS that there is no requirement for a vehicle to be fitted with a fuel gauge. "I do not regard it as sensible to allow one's vehicle to run out of fuel, but to claim that doing so should expose one to the possibility of a criminal record is absurd," he commented. He advised any motorist issued with such a ticket to contact an attorney and contest the matter vigorously. 

"The law makes no provision for the offence of running out of fuel, and I see no basis for motorists to be fined for not reading an instrument which their vehicle is not required to have. Whether it has it or not is irrelevant - the law does not require it, much less that one take any notice of it, or that it be calibrated to any specific standard." 

Handfield-Jones said that the RTMC's own figures show that 98.6% of JMPD fines are issued for speed, and that the department served no other purpose than money-making.  "I would like to see the traffic statistics that prove that running out of fuel is such a dangerous act as to justify its own enforcement unit. I would suggest that Minaar instead focus on ensuring that all his officers wear seatbelts," he said. "Thereafter, they might wish to enforce laws that save lives, rather than ones which simply make money," he concluded.

STORY AND PICTURE COURTESY OF WWW.DRIVING.CO.ZA