This Code is intended to achieve a greater level of uniformity in the way traffic law enforcement authorities and traffic safety practitioners operate. The decentralised (fragmented) structure of traffic law enforcement in South Africa necessitates the development of standardised directives, uniformity and to ensure consistency and professionalism in traffic policing. The Code is applicable to and mandatory for all traffic law enforcement authorities. Failure to comply with the Code may precipitate an intervention to remedy such non- compliance by a traffic law enforcement authority.
The purpose of the NRTLEC is to provide a national framework which sets out the following in respect to Road Traffic Law Enforcement
| (a) | minimum requirements for training and appointment of road traffic law enforcement officers; |
| (b) | strategic direction and goals to be achieved; |
| (c) | management practices and human resource practices to be followed; |
| (d) | operating principles to be applied; |
| (e) | performance levels to be achieved; |
| (f) | supporting management information systems to be implemented; and |
| (g) | actions which constitute a failure to comply with the code as contemplated in section 33. |
| 1.3 | Application of the Code |
The Code, once approved by the Shareholders Committee, becomes binding on the following institutions as prescribed in Section 32(5)(a) and (b) of the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act, 1999 (Act No. 20 of 1999):—
| (a) | Provincial authorities and local government bodies, irrespective of whether they perform road traffic services under a contract (service level agreement) or not; |
| (b) | Statutory transport institutions vested with powers to execute road traffic law enforcement functions; |
| (c) | Every police officer employed by the South African Police Service who executes traffic law enforcement functions, upon the approval and subject to the conditions and limitations prescribed or approved by the Minister for Safety and Security; and |
| (d) | Every traffic officer employed by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to execute road traffic law enforcement functions. |
| (e) | The Road Traffic Management Corporation shall establish the capacity to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Code by all traffic law enforcement authorities that are in terms of the Code, compelled to do so. |
| (f) | The capacity established as contemplated in (e) above may consist of traffic law enforcement practitioners from any traffic law enforcement authority, members from the broader road traffic safety fraternity as well as competent stakeholders from the private sector. |
A traffic law enforcement authority must submit information as the Corporation may reasonably require to monitor compliance with the Code and the Corporation shall maintain the requisite management information systems to monitor and evaluate the performance of traffic law enforcement authorities nationally. Traffic law enforcement authorities shall be subjected to periodic evaluation as determined by the Corporation.
| (a) | The provisions of this Code apply to the extent that they are not in conflict with the Constitution or any provision of national legislation; |
| (b) | The national standards in this Code are mandatory and must be complied with; |
| (c) | The performance targets in this Code are mandatory; |
| (d) | This Code is published in terms of Sections 32 and 33 of the Road Traffic Management Corporation Act, 1999 (Act 20 of 1999) that prescribes as follows: |
| 1.4.1 | National Road Traffic Law Enforcement Code |
| (a) | The Chief Executive Officer, in consultation with the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service and the national organisation recognised in terms of section 2(a) of the Organized Local Government Act, 1997. (Act No. 52 of 1997) shall develop a National Road Traffic Law Enforcement Code. |
| (b) | The Code must, considering local developmental needs, capacity and available resources, provide a national framework that sets out the following in respect of road traffic law enforcement:— |
| (i) | Minimum requirements for training institutions, a training curriculum and the requirements for the appointment of road traffic law enforcement officers; |
| (ii) | Minimum requirements for the establishment and registration of road traffic law enforcement authorities, irrespective of whether they perform road traffic services under a contract or not; |
| (iii) | National strategic direction and goals to be achieved; |
| (iv) | Management and human resources practices to be followed; |
| (v) | Operating principles to be applied; |
| (vi) | Defined performance standards to be achieved; |
| (vii) | Supporting management information systems (MIS) to be implemented; and |
| (viii) | Actions which constitute a failure to comply with the Code, as contemplated in Section 33 of the Act. |
| (c) | A Draft Code must be published by notice in the National Gazette and the notices must specify the time available to interested parties to comment, as prescribed in Section 32(7) of the Act. |
| (d) | The Chief Executive Officer, the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service and the national organisation recognised in terms of Section 2(a) of the Organised Local Government Act, 1997 (Act 52 of 1997) must consider all comments before completing the Code and submitting it to the Shareholders Committee for approval. |
| (e) | The Code, once approved by the Shareholders Committee, becomes binding on:— |
| (i) | Provincial authorities and local government bodies, irrespective of whether they perform road traffic law enforcement services under a contract or not, provided that the Chief Executive Officer may not force a local government body that does not provide road traffic services, to provide those services; |
| (ii) | Any statutory transport institution vested with powers to execute road traffic law enforcement functions for the duration of a contract concluded with a Corporation to provide road traffic law enforcement services: provided that the Code may only bind the South African Police Service and a municipal police service established in terms of section 64A of the South African Police Service Act, 1995 (Act No. 68 of 1995) upon approval thereof by the Minister of Police. |
| (iii) | No private institution or private person will be allowed to establish, conduct, coordinate and or be involved in any road traffic law enforcement activities in the country without the relevant authority’s approval. |
| (iv) | Road traffic safety practitioners may participate in any law enforcement conference, workshop, summit, etc. organised or endorsed by the Corporation and/or other road safety stakeholders with the aim of protecting the profession, the image of the profession and of promoting road safety nationally and internationally. |
| (f) | Every three years the code must, on recommendation of the Shareholders Committee, be revised. |
| (g) | Any revision of the code must be published in the Gazette and every Provincial Gazette for interested parties to comment on. |
