MOSSEL BAY NEWS - When the City of Johannesburg recently launched a WhatsApp-based hotline which enables motorists to report traffic violations committed by other road users as and when they happens, several local motorists asked whether this would also be implemented locally.

The Johannesburg hotline will be operated by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) and will enable people to send photos and videos of alleged illegal activities they're witnessing to the hotline. A call was made for Johannesburg motorists not to take photos or videos while driving, but to stop their vehicles to record the apparent transgressions.

Local motorists have long called for a similar opportunity to name and shame transgressors who - to their mind - endanger other road users by either speeding, illegally overtaking and/ or using their cellular phones while driving, to name but a few of the list of possible or likely transgressions.

According to the South African National Road Traffic Act, the following rules, among others apply:

• No driver is allowed to use a hand-held cell phone while driving.
• A cellphone may not be used at traffic lights when the car is not moving.
• A cellphone may not be used for taking photos, and browsing the Internet while driving.

In fact, the Act stipulates: "No person shall drive a vehicle on a public road while holding a cellular or mobile telephone or any other communication device in one or both hands or with any other part of the body."

In Cape Town, according to a 2012 bylaw your cellphone may be confiscated if you happen to be caught using your phone while driving.

There is a serious misconception among many South African drivers that it is permissable to use the cellphone as long as you are not talking.

Naming and shaming per se may also be unlawful.

In South African law defamation is committed whenever anyone publishes a defamatory statement about another living person. According to www.businesstech.co.za, "publish" relates to almost any form of communication. It could be a spoken or written allegation or even a non-verbal statement such as an image that is communicated to at least one person apart from the plaintiff.

Something is considered to be published not only by the person who originated it, but also by anyone who subsequently repeats it.

Mossel Bay municipal spokesperson Colin Puren warns that motorists should not break the law in an attempt to enforce the law.

 He said Mossel Bay will not go as far as confiscating cellphones, but motorists will be prosecuted when caught using their cellphones while driving.

"Motorists who feel strongly about rooting out irresponsible and unlawful behaviour are advised to note the registration number, make and model of the vehicle and to make a statement about the perceived transgression to the police. They would have to be prepared to testify in a court of law to eventually bring the perpetrators to book," Puren advised.

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