The Sustainable Warrant operation, launched in February 2019, has caught the attention of motorists with an increase in the number of people owning up to outstanding warrants of arrest for unpaid traffic-related debt.

According to a report on the IoL site, the City of Cape Town’s Traffic Service served just under 10 000 warrants during the first four weeks of its Sustainable Warrant operation, which has now become a permanent feature of the department’s operations.

Launched on 26 February, the operation has seen more resources devoted to Operation Reclaim which aims to clear a backlog of warrants for traffic offences and hold more motorists accountable, in order to drive behavioural change and reduce motor vehicle accidents and the resultant death toll.

‘The statistics are extremely encouraging. If we’re able to sustain the pace of the operation, road safety and courteous driving can only improve going forward. We indicated at the start of this operation that it is not about arresting motorists, but about getting them to attend to their fines and warrants,’ said Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith.

The Cape Town Traffic Service has also noted an increase in the number of motorists visiting driving licence testing centres to inquire about and to settle outstanding warrants. An increase has also been observed in the number of administration marks that have been removed from the National Traffic Information System.

Full report on the IoL site