‘Plastic’ officers manning Cape Town roads
Cape Town's traffic department has been employing extra sets of eyes on the road in a bid to curb the high number of deadly crashes.
Metal cut-outs of traffic officers have been put up across the city in an attempt to cut down on speeding offences.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith says the initiative has been running for over a year.
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"This is one of the cases where the traffic department has tried to be a little innovative," says Smith.
"I think the public understands we're trying to help keep them safe and hopefully those cut-outs make people reflect on the speeds they're travelling at because all the indications are that the single largest contributor to road deaths remains speed."
He adds that it has had a positive effect on driver behaviour.
"It has been working. We've observed people slowing down for them.
"Maybe in the future people will slow down if only to see if whether its a real officer or a cut-out and then we will still be achieveing the same impact."