City of Cape Town plans pound expansions as Council approves Traffic By-law amendments

City of Cape Town plans pound expansions as Council approves Traffic By-law amendments

May 29, 2026 • News

The approval of the by-law amendments by a full sitting of the Council on Wednesday, 27 May, means the amendments are now one step closer to implementation. Once gazetted, and upon implementation, it is expected that impounds of both private and public transport vehicles will increase.

The amendments to the Traffic By-law focus on the provisions for impounding vehicles and the related penalties.

Once gazetted, Traffic Officers will be able to impound vehicles in a number of instances, including where:

Vehicles are used in illegal street racing
The driver is under the influence or does not have a valid licence
The vehicle is being driven on a public road in a manner that is reckless and poses an immediate or imminent danger to the life of passengers, road users, or pedestrians
Vehicles fitted with false number plates or not having the prescribed minimum number plates

In the first nine months of the current financial year, the Traffic Service made 1 512 arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol and 158 arrests for reckless and negligent driving.

‘The drunk driving arrests represent a 10% increase compared to the previous year. In terms of the amended by-law, the vehicles involved in such arrests could be impounded, quite simply because existing measures have done little to deter this kind of behaviour or address the general lawlessness that we witness on our roads daily, particularly in the public transport industry. We have continuously highlighted the amendments, so road users are urged to reconsider their ways or face the consequences if caught.

“We realise that the new provisions will demand increased space at our impound facilities and work is already underway to add more bays at Ndabeni, but also for another, larger impound facility,” said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

“In December last year, the Urban Mobility Directorate released its latest Traffic Crash Report. From 2021 to 2024, a total of 3 007 people were killed in 262 225 traffic crashes in Cape Town. That is, on average, one death every 11 hours and 40 minutes. 68% of the deceased were pedestrians. It is absolutely shocking to see how many people are killed and injured on our roads every day, the majority being pedestrians who are extremely vulnerable, especially when drivers speed or don’t stop. We can save lives and avoid traffic crashes by keeping to the rules of the road. And for those who don’t, there will now be severe consequences. We welcome the amendments and congratulate our colleagues in Safety and Security for taking this bold step towards making our roads safer for all road users,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Councillor Rob Quintas.

Now that Council has approved the amendments, the by-law will need to be gazetted before it comes into effect.

In the meantime, the Traffic Service is working on the practical aspects of the amendments and how these need to be integrated into daily operations.

“We are incredibly proud of the work that has been done to bring these amendments to life. Road-related fatalities remain unacceptably high in our country, although there has been a slight decline. We hope that these amendments will further assist in reducing dangerous behaviour on our roads and save lives. We also hope that it will bring some respite to the many law-abiding road users who have had to put up with the selfish actions of others for far too long,” said the Chairperson of the City’s Safety and Security Portfolio Committee, Councillor Mzwakhe Nqavashe.

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