Plans are reportedly in motion to expand the City’s enforcement presence on the N2 and surrounding areas. The deployment on the highway will soon include additional patrols on the N2 including routes between Nelson Mandela Boulevard and Sir Lowry’s Pass, Baden Powell Drive, Borcherds Quarry and Airport Approach Roads.

This follows recent statistics released by the City’s Safety and Security Directorate that show enforcement staff responded to over 68,000 traffic offences between July 2024 and February.

For the financial year to date (July 2024 – February 2025), staff have responded to more than 4,000 vehicle breakdowns. Of the vehicle breakdowns recorded on the N2 and R300, 86% were either due to a mechanical fault, tyres or fuel.

Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith says these statistics offer just a glimpse into the many challenges the officers have to deal with.

“They also respond to accident scenes, criminal incidents and more – even herding animals off the roadway, and clearing obstructions like rocks placed with intent to do harm. But the vehicle breakdowns continue to dominate.” added Smith

Smith has in the meantime urged motorists to be more aware of their surroundings, but also the state of their vehicle, before taking on the road.

The draft budget, tabled by Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis last week, included an allocation of R20 million for 44 additional Metro Police officers to work on a shift rotation to shore up patrols in this precinct.

“In addition to the request for additional personnel, we also have CCTV monitoring to help extend our reach along with drones for pre-planned operations,” said Smith

Smith added that he has engaged all the relevant stakeholders to implement better walling solutions for hotspots on these major routes to decrease the number of pedestrians and animals on the road to improve public safety.

Implementation of City Highway Patrol Unit

The dedicated patrols were introduced in response to a spate of attacks on motorists on the N2 in 2015 and expanded to include the Traffic Service’s Highway Patrol Unit in 2022.

Officers attached to the Metro Police Department and the Traffic Service’s Highway Patrol Unit (HPU) conduct patrols on a 24-hour basis to protect road users but also attend to accident scenes or other roadway obstructions like protest action, animals on the roadway etc.

For years, the Metro Police deployment focused on the N2 and R300. The introduction of the HPU saw the footprint expanded to include the N7 and the N1.

Collectively, the patrol areas amount to just under 100 kilometres of roadway.

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