{"id":841347,"date":"2025-11-01T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=841347"},"modified":"2025-10-31T15:40:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:40:39","slug":"new-high-tech-speed-cameras-coming-to-cape-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/841347\/new-high-tech-speed-cameras-coming-to-cape-town\/","title":{"rendered":"New high-tech speed cameras coming to Cape Town"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Five years ago, Cape Town had just 26 fixed enforcement cameras. The city has increased this number by 196% to 77 in 2025, and officials say this is still not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, the city has noted that new high-tech cameras will be gradually introduced, and more officers equipped with manual traps will also be deployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking with CapeTalk, Alderman JP Smith, the City of Cape Town\u2019s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, confirmed that more permanent traffic enforcement cameras are being installed across the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith explained that the 77 cameras erected across the city include both speed and red-light cameras. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably not enough. We should probably have a significantly larger number if you compare us to other cities around the world,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on the new speed traps, Smith added that the new cameras being installed are more modern and use technology that makes them less conspicuous. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe cameras are of a slightly more modern design. We\u2019re less likely to see a flash because they use optical systems that don\u2019t require visible flash enhancement. The infrared flash is not visible to the human eye,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked whether these cameras actually change driver behaviour, Smith admitted that their impact is limited. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDriver behaviour is changed by a camera only in the immediate vicinity of that camera. People will slow down for the camera and speed up immediately after,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCameras are therefore placed where speed needs to be reduced\u2014based on accident data, serious or fatal collisions, or community petitions about congestion or red-light violations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that because fines arrive long after the offence, they don\u2019t have an immediate effect on motorists\u2019 behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe connection between bad behaviour and punishment is not immediate. So, I don\u2019t think cameras on their own are particularly effective in shaping driver mindset,\u201d Smith said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI cameras on the cards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Because of this, Smith also believes that manual speed enforcement is more effective. \u201cThe manual movement of speed cameras around the city is more effective because those locations are not predictable,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that they would be most effective and reduce loss of life the greatest if they were concealed, but the public is very earnest that cameras should not be concealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou should, of course, never be speeding, so you shouldn\u2019t be worried about where the cameras are,\u201d Smith said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, many people spend a vast amount of energy arguing with us about whether cameras are too concealed. Our speed enforcement policy, therefore, emphasises visibility\u2014though I don\u2019t think it necessarily aids road safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City has also been stepping up visible enforcement. \u201cWe are slowly but surely deploying more officers,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a concerning level of contempt for intersections, traffic lights and stop streets. A lot of pedestrian accidents happen within intersections,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo over the last seven or eight months, we\u2019ve stepped up our enforcement there, and with the new neighbourhood safety officers being deployed, we\u2019re doing more at stop streets and traffic lights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of Cape Town\u2019s cameras now have dual functionality. \u201cThey are activated both by speeding and by skipping the red light,\u201d Smith explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are also increasingly effective AI cameras now available, for which we are currently waiting approval from the the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Once approved, they\u2019ll help detect vehicles driving on the shoulder, over solid lines, or committing similar offences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City has been testing technology capable of identifying drivers not wearing seatbelts. As for officers filming traffic violations from their vehicles, Smith confirmed this is legal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The city has noted that new high-tech cameras will be gradually introduced, with AI cameras currently waiting approval from the DPP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":841435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[2356,23951,23952],"class_list":["post-841347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-city-of-cape-town","tag-mayoral-committee-for-safety-and-security","tag-speed-cameras"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841347"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841446,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841347\/revisions\/841446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/841435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}