Cape Town Motorists Hit With Seatbelt Fines From Spy Cams

Drivers across Cape Town are being caught out by surveillance cameras used to enforce seatbelt laws - and not everyone is convinced the system is working fairly.

News24 has reported on the story as one motorist, Amaan Sayed, was left stunned when he discovered a R500 fine issued against him for allegedly not wearing a seatbelt on Nelson Mandela Boulevard. The incident dated back to January, but he only found out in March when he logged into the City of Cape Towns online fine system after paying a separate speeding ticket.

While checking his account, Sayed noticed a charge he hadn't seen before. Unlike previous fines which displayed multiple images - including clear evidence and license plates - this particular fine only included a photo of his car's number plate, with no proof of whether he or his passengers were wearing seatbelts.

'I was shocked. I had no idea about this fine and there was no image proving I wasn't buckled up,' Sayed told News24. 'They claimed there was a picture showing the passengers, but it wasn't attached to the fine. How can that be fair?'

He raised his concerns with the City's traffic call centre, where an official admitted that while there was supposedly an image of the vehicle occupants, it wasn't clear whether a seatbelt was being worn - and the image wasn't made available for review.