News / Local
Motorists see red over reflectors
26 Aug 2014 at 06:14hrs | Views
MOTORISTS in Bulawayo were this week running around town buying "new" reflectors for their vehicles after police pounced and arrested drivers with cars which had "insufficient reflectors."
It appeared the police had not been paying particular attention to the type of reflectors on vehicles, with the majority of motorists having plain white reflectors of any size on the front and plain red reflectors of any size at the back of their vehicles.
But many were to receive the "shock of their lives" when they were stopped by traffic police and told that they had wrong reflectors and made to pay a spot fine of $20 for the four "insufficient reflectors".
"I have reflectors but I'm told they are the wrong ones. I have been driving this car with these reflectors all over the country for the past three years and no one has ever raised the issue of the type of reflectors," said a driver who was sharing his sentiments with other motorists waiting to be ticketed.
"I hear, to be on the safe side, they must be the size of the driver's licence, and these guys (police) actually have a ruler here to measure the size if you argue with them. They don't want these plain reflectors, they want the ones which are more shiny and look rough and now I am using part of school fees money for next term to pay the fine. I wanted to pay fees for my daughter at the bank" said one dejected motorist.
A source within the police confirmed that the issue of reflectors was not new. "It's not a new thing. That requirement is lawful and has been there for some time maybe some police were being lenient. But the recommended ones are more clearer at night and can help reduce accidents," he said.
This publication witnessed a number of motorists at a roadblock mounted at a flyover road along Khami Road on Wednesday morning, being made to pay for the offence, much to the chagrin of many who said they believed they had "reflectors" on their vehicles. The recommended reflectors are of the same colour (red and white), but are called honeycomb reflective tape.
It appeared the police had not been paying particular attention to the type of reflectors on vehicles, with the majority of motorists having plain white reflectors of any size on the front and plain red reflectors of any size at the back of their vehicles.
But many were to receive the "shock of their lives" when they were stopped by traffic police and told that they had wrong reflectors and made to pay a spot fine of $20 for the four "insufficient reflectors".
"I hear, to be on the safe side, they must be the size of the driver's licence, and these guys (police) actually have a ruler here to measure the size if you argue with them. They don't want these plain reflectors, they want the ones which are more shiny and look rough and now I am using part of school fees money for next term to pay the fine. I wanted to pay fees for my daughter at the bank" said one dejected motorist.
A source within the police confirmed that the issue of reflectors was not new. "It's not a new thing. That requirement is lawful and has been there for some time maybe some police were being lenient. But the recommended ones are more clearer at night and can help reduce accidents," he said.
This publication witnessed a number of motorists at a roadblock mounted at a flyover road along Khami Road on Wednesday morning, being made to pay for the offence, much to the chagrin of many who said they believed they had "reflectors" on their vehicles. The recommended reflectors are of the same colour (red and white), but are called honeycomb reflective tape.
Source - B-Metro
