Social media thwart traffic authorities

Social media users are aiming to thwart traffic authorities by setting up Facebook groups and sending out tweets warning road users of roadblocks.

Last month, more than 1 000 people died on SA's roads, and traffic authorities have warned that there would be no respite for motorists who broke the law.

Department spokesperson Logan Maistry is quoted as saying the police would be out in full force to ensure safety on the roads over the next few days, when traffic volumes were expected to increase as people return to work.

“We will continue to enforce a zero tolerance approach on drivers who do not adhere to road rules.” More than 600 000 vehicles and drivers were stopped and checked across SA at roadblocks, as part of the Arrive Alive road safety campaign.

But Facebook and Twitter users are thwarting the roadblocks, by setting up pages or tweeting other users about the location of roadblocks.

One Facebook page, Roadblocks 2009, has 312 members and warns people throughout SA of roadblocks.

alerting Facebook users about roadblocks in the coastal city. Several South Africans have also tweeted the presence of roadblocks to other Twitter users.

Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Inspector Edna Mamonyane says, while warning other drivers of roadblocks is morally wrong, it has not hampered the department's efforts to catch traffic offenders.

“I don't think, as a department, we could do anything about it,” she says. Mamonyane explains that the authority has to prove that a message was sent, and drivers warn each other by SMS or flicking their lights anyway.

In addition, she says, the department had many roadblocks set up during the festive season, and drivers could not avoid all of them. “You can run, but you cannot hide.”

Mamonyane adds that people warning other people of roadblocks should be aware of the consequences, as they could be warning drunk drivers who could go on to cause an accident.

Arthur Goldstuck, MD of research company World Wide Worx, says the authorities will have to become familiar with social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

He says social media is becoming more pervasive, and 2.5 million South Africans - half of all Internet users - are on Facebook. “You are going to see social media roped in for almost any form of information dissemination.”

Goldstuck says social media will become much more of an issue for the authorities and they need to become familiar with the technology. “The problem is that the authorities are far behind when it comes to technology.”