Growing concern

FANIE (SJD) KRUGER WRITES:As a former traffic officer with years of experience in road safety and enforcement, I write this letter out of growing concern over the outdated and poorly implemented provisions of Namibia’s Road Traffic and Transport Act (Act 22 of 1999) and its accompanying regulations. Despite multiple formal submissions to the relevant ministries and authorities, including acknowledgement of receipt, no substantive feedback has been received.Our road laws are not keeping pace with modern technology or practical realities. This legal lag is now causing harm to the public, both in terms of unjust fines and missed government revenue.One such example is the issue of LED headlights. Regulation 175 clearly permits the use of additional lights without specifying the type or brand – whether LED, halogen, or otherwise. Yet, many motorists are being fined under Regulation 203 for having aftermarket LED lights, despite no specific ban in the current legislation. When questioned, enforcement officials respond with vague references to “aftermarket” being illegal – without citing any SABS or SANS standard to back this up. Such contradictions have even led to court cases where charges were dropped or ruled in favour of the motorists, but the enforcement practices remain unchanged.Another area of confusion is the display of the vehicle licence disc. Regulation 50 simply states it must be visible from the front or left of the vehicle through the windscreen. However, it does not specify where on the windscreen the disc should be placed. In contrast, South Africa’s legislation makes this clear. Why hasn't Namibia followed suit?Additionally, regulations covering driving schools (Reg. 138 and 139) have yet to be officially implemented despite their inclusion in the law over 20 years ago. These regulations specify instructor qualifications and fees, which – if enforced – would bring professionalism to the industry and much-needed income to the state. Their continued non-promulgation is puzzling.Other problematic areas include:* Learner’s licence misuse: Some test applicants use a learner’s licence for one vehicle class (e.g. CE1) but test on a lower class (e.g. BE). This renders the initial licence invalid, yet it is still being used – contrary to Regulation 111.* Illegally registered trailers: Trailers longer than the legal limit are sometimes registered as normal vehicles instead of being treated as “abnormal loads” as the law requires.* Left-hand drive vehicles: Regulation 219 prohibits left-hand drive vehicles registered after 2003, yet they are still appearing on our roads.* Electric motorcycles and scooters: The law is silent on these growing categories of vehicles, leaving a regulatory gap that exposes users and other road users to risk.Each of these examples reflects either non-enforcement or outdated regulation. More troubling is that this situation allows for inconsistent application of the law, leading to illegal summonses and avoidable financial losses to both citizens and the government.I respectfully call on the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Roads Authority, and the Namibian Police to review and urgently modernise the Act and its regulations. If necessary, the Anti-Corruption Commission should assist in investigating why these issues remain unaddressed.Namibia deserves road traffic legislation that is fair, enforceable, and aligned with current technologies and international best practices.* Rubrieke, meningstukke, briewe en SMS’e deur lesers en meningvormers weerspieël nie noodwendig die siening van Republikein of Network Media Hub (NMH) nie. As mediahuis onderskryf NMH die etiese kode vir Namibiese media, soos toegepas deur die Media-ombudsman.

Growing concern

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Republikein 2025-04-23

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Growing concern

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Republikein 2025-04-23

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