Illegal Car Parkers, beware, the vertical truck is coming for you! This is the warning for Cape Town motorists. The City has recently acquired a new vertical lift truck to help it clear illegally parked vehicles more efficiently and in a manner that conventional tow trucks can’t.
“This should be a wake-up call to those motorists who think they can get away with breaking the law by parking as they please, without due regard for others,” added MMC JP Smith.
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Illegal Car Parkers, beware, the vertical truck is coming for you!
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith, says the vertical lift truck is not an entirely new concept. He says that years ago, the City’s Traffic Services had access to a contracted vehicle, and when that contract ceased, they started work to finalise specifications and other requirements to acquire a vertical lift vehicle for the City.
“If the vehicle is not claimed within three months, the City can dispose of it via auction to recoup costs, or in the case of unroadworthy vehicles, it can be crushed,” elaborated MMC JP Smith.
Big Boost for City Towing Fleet
Smith says that the goal was finally achieved in the current financial year. He says the latest addition takes the Traffic Services’ towing fleet to seven vehicles, and there are another 3 on its way. He says that during the last week of March alone, the vertical lift truck removed six vehicles.
He added, “Once a vehicle is impounded, the owner is required to pay the fine as well as the impoundment release fee before they can take possession of the vehicle.”
Smith says the vertical lift truck makes it so much easier to remove vehicles, particularly ones that are parked in and can’t be moved using the conventional tow trucks. He says its forklift mechanism makes the work a breeze. The MMC added that it’s early days yet and their staff are familiarising themselves with the new vehicle, so they expect the rate of pickups to increase rapidly in the future.
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Traffic officials say there are numerous circumstances under which a vehicle can be towed away by enforcement services. Smith added that Section 56 of the City’s Traffic By-law of 2021 outlines several ways a vehicle is deemed to be illegally parked. He says where such a vehicle is obstructing the safe passage of other road users, it can be impounded.
When is a vehicle abandoned?
The Cape Town Traffic Officer says in terms of the National Road Traffic Act, a vehicle is considered abandoned if it’s left on a public road in a manner that creates a danger or obstruction to traffic, or if it’s left in a metered parking space, parking ground, or garage for a continuous period of seven days or more. Smith says they receive daily complaints about vehicles causing obstructions.
Over the past 9 months
He added that in the past nine months, staff have towed away 352 vehicles for by-law violations, causing an obstruction or for being abandoned. At the same time, Smith has told residents that they can alert the Traffic Services to incidents of illegal parking or abandoned vehicles by phoning the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700 from a cellphone and 107 from a landline.
