The highest speeding fine recorded in South Africa was handed down to a KwaZulu-Natal. In a country with one of the highest road fatality rates in the world, excessive speeding shouldn’t go ignored by South African traffic authorities.
So, what was the highest speeding fine recorded in South Africa? And who would so brazenly flout the law and actively endanger other motorists? Here’s the highest recorded speeding ticket in South Africa – plus a few more – according to TopAuto.
HIGHEST SPEEDING FINE IN SOUTH AFRICA
As such, the single highest speeding fine in South Africa on record was handed to Jan Hendrik De Vos. Back in 2007, he who was captured going 295 km/h on the N2 near Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal. A magistrate in the Scottburgh District Court came down hard on De Vos, handing him a R100 000 fine or three years in jail.
This was indeed the highest speeding fine in South Africa. To add insult to injury, De Vos’ superbike wasn’t licenced and displayed no number plate, which contributed to the magistrate’s sentence. Moreover, a Suzuki GSX-R 1100’s top speed is quoted at 299 km/h, meaning De Vos was very close to the superbike’s absolute V-Max. Suggesting he was riding that day with explicit intention of going as fast as possible.
INFAMOUS TAXI SCOFFLAW
Okay, this next one isn’t actually for speeding, but rather cumulative traffic fines. The now-infamous scofflaw, known simply as MF Adonis, is a taxi operator in Cape Town. This ‘juristic person,’ under AARTO traffic laws, accumulated R110 700 of outstanding fines on his minibus taxis.
This included 69 infringement notices and nearly as many warrants for consistently failing to appear in court. Ironically enough, he was arrested at the Greenpoint traffic department while attempting to renew the licences for his taxi fleet.
MORE SPEEDERS CAUGHT RED-HANDED
The next highest speeding fine in South Africa also took place on the N2 in KwaZulu-Natal. This one amounted to R40 000. The driver, Kavilyn Govender, was arrested and charged, clocked at 216 km/h in a Mazda RX8. His license was also suspended for six months.
In 2011, the Free State’s Executive Council member for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Dan Andrew Mokhuwe Kgothule, was clocked at 235 km/h on the N1 in the Free State. He was driving a BMW 745i and was summarily arrested and tried in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court. He got off with a relatively minor R20 000 fine, however, and would not be reelected at the end of his term in 2014.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
In many Nordic countries like Finland and Norway, traffic fines are based on the offender’s income and net worth. Therefore, traffic police verify the net income of the offender using the taxpayer database. In many instances this leads to higher fines for those who think they’re above the law. Should a similar sliding scale be used in South Africa?
SHOULD HARSHER FINES BE DISHED OUT TO SPEEDERS IN SOUTH AFRICA?
Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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