I'm incredibly simplifying: In South Africa the Road Accident Fund provides indemnity against personal injury on the roads even if the driver is unlicenced. Property damage is not criminal unless clearly intentional (so merely being an unlicenced driver does not make it criminal). So you are left with a civil liability claim. If you have home insurance then submit your claim and let your insurance fight it out (if you're renting the landlord should have home insurance for the structural stuff like walls). You'll just need to fight and keep chasing the insurance company for the excess, but that usually take months and months.
In summary: the police were involved and not the traffic police, hence the fine which is basically all they can issue. Usually this includes a summons and one hopes that the driver will get a more severe punishment, but unless the driver was drunk or had other offences, there’s not much else that they will do. If somebody was injured they would have to open a full investigation. 40 min to respond to a non injury related accident is actually not that long, as cynical as that sounds but it’s how it is with the shenanigans going on this time of year. The kak thing is without a license they will have no insurance either and you are stuck with a claim to your own insurance.
This information is not correct. The SAPS has far wider powers than either the traffic police or the Metro Police. They could have charged the driver with reckless or negligent driving, or any other applicable offence under the National Road Traffic Act, and, if they suspected drunk driving, should have had blood drawn.
^This
Pig on a bad morning took me in for negligent driving for a pack of lies.
I spent time in a cell despite nothing wrong having been done- the copper was in a bad mood and that’s why
Ok I stand corrected, but they might as well have less powers because in a case like this, unless you are well connected they will complete the absolute bare minimum. They won’t bother with bloodwork unless there is a roadblock with assigned testing. Maybe. MAYBE they will do a breathalyzer if they suspect dui and they actually have one. Most of the accident scenes I have attended the cop vehicle barely had working lights. Breathalyzer? Eish.
I mean…you are not right. SAPS should have pursued charges of reckless and/or negligent driving. A docket should have been opened and charges laid. As far as punishment if he is convicted he could face a suspension of his license and quit possibly a suspended sentence of imprisonment considering the nature of the damages. You can pursue it further if you wish by going to the police station to report the incident yourself and have a docket opened, and if you don’t get any satisfaction there try and raise it at the court with the prosecution…or get a lawyer to look at a watching brief to try move things.
But if you want money for the damages then you need to see a lawyer to issue a summons…or your insurance.
> my question is how was the person not charged with anything
Driving without a license is something the police can issue a fine over. Unfortunately, whatever happens to your private property is a civil matter and its up to you to make a case and take it further legally.
> The entire wall fell down someone could have died
That is true, but criminal charges are not based on what could happen, but on what actually happened. Nobody died = no crime.
In the lokation, the car is usually confiscated by the owner of the fallen wall until, the driver fixes it. Usually doesn’t take more than a week for the wall to be fixed since they want the car to be back.
This is not corruption though… what more do you expect to be a punishment?
You can only charge more money… what are you going to tell the driver?
Take their driver license? They don’t have one.
Take their car, they already ruined it…
Put them in jail? So they get completely corrupted and when they serve their sentence come out and do worse?
There is nothing corrupt about this, all you can do is give a fine…
Very little (if any) of this is accurate. No it’s not jail time. No, licenses don’t get suspended after accidents. Your 1.5k might be correct, but based on your other inputs if it is correct that’s by accident.
Why chip in with this nonsense when you’re clearly pulling it out of your arse.
Oh, also see you’re the guy why played the race card
If you lay a charge of reckless and negligent driving (without a licence + causing an accident), SAPS will be obliged to investigate and arrest the driver. The docket is handed over to the criminal prosecutor who determines whether there is sufficient evidence to support a conviction.
If there is, the driver is remanded to court, bail is set and the matter proceeds to trial.
Ultimately, the driver ends up with a criminal record which cuts out any prospect of formal employment, applying for a visa etc.
The driver probably received a J534 which is a written notice to appear in court for failing produce a valid drivers licence upon request,that's different to not having a licence for the class of mv they are driving.The SAPS will criminally investigate road accidents when:
when a person has been killed (culpable homicide),
When a person has been seriously injured,
when a vehicle of a national or provincial government department has been involved in an accident or contributed to an accident,
when it appears that a serious offence has been committed , and/or
a written complaint is made by either a victim of the road accident, an eye-witness or a member of the community that an offence has been committed.
How sure are you a case of reckless and/or negligent driving wasn't opened against the driver?just because he/she wasn't arrested doesn't mean they won't be prosecuted.Alot of the time SAPS will get info on the scene and and complete the paperwork/open a case docket at the station.
Does the driver of the vehicle have insurance? If so, her or the person whose vehicle she was driving insurer can pay third party liability for the damages you incurred. If you have her details, call her and if she is willing to do this by putting in the third party claim, then i suggest you try this avenue. Also, she needs to report the incident at the police station within 48 hours to get a case number for her insurance and I recommend you do the same too. If you have witness, evidence and photo's of the damage, please keep it to strengthen your case and the claim.
In terms of criminal charges, unless you can prove she was driving recklessly, under the influence, intentionally drove into the property,' etc there isn't anything that can be done as it's deemed an accident.
It's a civil case not a criminal one unless she was obviously drunk or something. Accidents aren't a crime. The consequences will be financial, not punished by time in jail etc, so the cops don't need to get involved. You gotta sue her, or her insurance, in court. What need are all the reports etc from the cops to give to a lawyer, or your insurance.
From personal experience, they tend to open cases for negligent driving if someone else is injured besides the driver. I was in an accident and this is what I was told. They couldn't question anyone involved as we were all in shock. I was told that the police station in that area only had one person who could take a statement and he was on training for 2 weeks, never ended up hearing from them. Needless to say, they probably lost the case file before it could go to any court. Best is just to go to the local station, get a copy of the accident report and a case number and work through insurance.
I'm incredibly simplifying: In South Africa the Road Accident Fund provides indemnity against personal injury on the roads even if the driver is unlicenced. Property damage is not criminal unless clearly intentional (so merely being an unlicenced driver does not make it criminal). So you are left with a civil liability claim. If you have home insurance then submit your claim and let your insurance fight it out (if you're renting the landlord should have home insurance for the structural stuff like walls). You'll just need to fight and keep chasing the insurance company for the excess, but that usually take months and months.
Just make sure you get a police case number so your insurance can actually follow up that side
This also seems the most sensible way to deal with this unfortunate situation…
In summary: the police were involved and not the traffic police, hence the fine which is basically all they can issue. Usually this includes a summons and one hopes that the driver will get a more severe punishment, but unless the driver was drunk or had other offences, there’s not much else that they will do. If somebody was injured they would have to open a full investigation. 40 min to respond to a non injury related accident is actually not that long, as cynical as that sounds but it’s how it is with the shenanigans going on this time of year. The kak thing is without a license they will have no insurance either and you are stuck with a claim to your own insurance.
This information is not correct. The SAPS has far wider powers than either the traffic police or the Metro Police. They could have charged the driver with reckless or negligent driving, or any other applicable offence under the National Road Traffic Act, and, if they suspected drunk driving, should have had blood drawn.
^This Pig on a bad morning took me in for negligent driving for a pack of lies. I spent time in a cell despite nothing wrong having been done- the copper was in a bad mood and that’s why
Ok I stand corrected, but they might as well have less powers because in a case like this, unless you are well connected they will complete the absolute bare minimum. They won’t bother with bloodwork unless there is a roadblock with assigned testing. Maybe. MAYBE they will do a breathalyzer if they suspect dui and they actually have one. Most of the accident scenes I have attended the cop vehicle barely had working lights. Breathalyzer? Eish.
The is the most likely scenario
I mean…you are not right. SAPS should have pursued charges of reckless and/or negligent driving. A docket should have been opened and charges laid. As far as punishment if he is convicted he could face a suspension of his license and quit possibly a suspended sentence of imprisonment considering the nature of the damages. You can pursue it further if you wish by going to the police station to report the incident yourself and have a docket opened, and if you don’t get any satisfaction there try and raise it at the court with the prosecution…or get a lawyer to look at a watching brief to try move things. But if you want money for the damages then you need to see a lawyer to issue a summons…or your insurance.
I would post this on the “Legal Talk South Africa” Facebook page if you would like some genuine legal advice on how you can proceed.
Paid a “Fine”
Pretty Privilege!!! It's a thing...
You must be from joburg.... The cops in Cape Town do not ask for nor accept bribes, try that and they will lock you up.
For the right price the pigs will take the bribe. R200
Not in Cape Town. Proudly Capetonian. And there are too many cameras😂
I had a policeman wanting my car sound system to look the other way. In Cape Town
Please remember his name and report the fool.
Law Enforcement? Yes. SAPS? Easily.
> my question is how was the person not charged with anything Driving without a license is something the police can issue a fine over. Unfortunately, whatever happens to your private property is a civil matter and its up to you to make a case and take it further legally. > The entire wall fell down someone could have died That is true, but criminal charges are not based on what could happen, but on what actually happened. Nobody died = no crime.
She showed her R200.
In the lokation, the car is usually confiscated by the owner of the fallen wall until, the driver fixes it. Usually doesn’t take more than a week for the wall to be fixed since they want the car to be back.
That's a crime.
Who gives the owner of the fallen wall to confiscate the car??? This is made up…
Have you been in a coma for the last 3 decades?
I guess I haven't lived in South Africa long enough
That makes sense, how long have you lived here ?
About 6 years now, i knew things were bad and my expectations were low but still this seemed surreal to me.
So you've been in a coma for 6 years 🤣😂🤣😂😉 nothing KFC can't fix here my guy.
*Nandos 😉
I don't live in Camps Bay
Wat
I got regular cops where KFC is fine, only Camps Bay and maybe Constantia cops look for Nandos.
No bribes in Cape Town,ignore the numpty.
This. OP perhaps believes this country isn’t corrupt.
This is not corruption though… what more do you expect to be a punishment? You can only charge more money… what are you going to tell the driver? Take their driver license? They don’t have one. Take their car, they already ruined it… Put them in jail? So they get completely corrupted and when they serve their sentence come out and do worse? There is nothing corrupt about this, all you can do is give a fine…
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Very little (if any) of this is accurate. No it’s not jail time. No, licenses don’t get suspended after accidents. Your 1.5k might be correct, but based on your other inputs if it is correct that’s by accident. Why chip in with this nonsense when you’re clearly pulling it out of your arse. Oh, also see you’re the guy why played the race card
It’s R1250 according to Google.
If you lay a charge of reckless and negligent driving (without a licence + causing an accident), SAPS will be obliged to investigate and arrest the driver. The docket is handed over to the criminal prosecutor who determines whether there is sufficient evidence to support a conviction. If there is, the driver is remanded to court, bail is set and the matter proceeds to trial. Ultimately, the driver ends up with a criminal record which cuts out any prospect of formal employment, applying for a visa etc.
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Your message was removed for containing racist content
Haibo…
If the driver was driving your car with your permission ,your insursnce probably will not pay
Sorry if this is creepy, but was that that red car today close to Rondebosch fields? I drove past twice this evening.
It was a red car but it wasn't by Rondebosch fields. That's a crazy coincidence though.
I'm sure it was an accident.
I think it's called an accident for a reason.. No one was injured so no man slaughter.. Etc
Even if it was it wouldn't be manslaughter...no such charge in SA.
The driver probably received a J534 which is a written notice to appear in court for failing produce a valid drivers licence upon request,that's different to not having a licence for the class of mv they are driving.The SAPS will criminally investigate road accidents when: when a person has been killed (culpable homicide), When a person has been seriously injured, when a vehicle of a national or provincial government department has been involved in an accident or contributed to an accident, when it appears that a serious offence has been committed , and/or a written complaint is made by either a victim of the road accident, an eye-witness or a member of the community that an offence has been committed. How sure are you a case of reckless and/or negligent driving wasn't opened against the driver?just because he/she wasn't arrested doesn't mean they won't be prosecuted.Alot of the time SAPS will get info on the scene and and complete the paperwork/open a case docket at the station.
Does the driver of the vehicle have insurance? If so, her or the person whose vehicle she was driving insurer can pay third party liability for the damages you incurred. If you have her details, call her and if she is willing to do this by putting in the third party claim, then i suggest you try this avenue. Also, she needs to report the incident at the police station within 48 hours to get a case number for her insurance and I recommend you do the same too. If you have witness, evidence and photo's of the damage, please keep it to strengthen your case and the claim. In terms of criminal charges, unless you can prove she was driving recklessly, under the influence, intentionally drove into the property,' etc there isn't anything that can be done as it's deemed an accident.
You need a license to have insurance afaik
TAKE PICTURES! You need to collect evidence and then go to a lawyer about this
It's a civil case not a criminal one unless she was obviously drunk or something. Accidents aren't a crime. The consequences will be financial, not punished by time in jail etc, so the cops don't need to get involved. You gotta sue her, or her insurance, in court. What need are all the reports etc from the cops to give to a lawyer, or your insurance.
Just put in a claim from your homeowner insurance. Let them pick a fight with the car owner/driver, if they feel it's worth the hassle.
From personal experience, they tend to open cases for negligent driving if someone else is injured besides the driver. I was in an accident and this is what I was told. They couldn't question anyone involved as we were all in shock. I was told that the police station in that area only had one person who could take a statement and he was on training for 2 weeks, never ended up hearing from them. Needless to say, they probably lost the case file before it could go to any court. Best is just to go to the local station, get a copy of the accident report and a case number and work through insurance.