- Public list of broken lights requested.
- Each fault to carry reference number and date.
- Urgent repairs wanted before 4 November elections.
- Schools, polling stations and pedestrian routes first.
- List to be updated weekly.
Every municipality in South Africa should publish a list of its broken traffic lights and streetlights, each with a reference number and a repair date, according to the Automobile Association (AA). The organisation wants the most urgent repairs completed before the local government elections on 4 November and the festive season, with the list updated weekly.
Routes to schools, polling stations and busy pedestrian corridors should be fixed first. “When a traffic light dies, the driver waits. The person on foot takes the gamble,” said Bobby Ramagwede, CEO of the AA.
Broken traffic lights across South African cities
In July, Kariega businessman Jevon Dyer dumped about five broken traffic lights outside the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s customer care office after the lights outside his Caledon Street shop had been out for months. The metro’s political head for roads and transport, Yolisa Pali-Jongilanga, later said thieves stripped lights on the M17 seven weeks after repairs.
Elsewhere, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) reported more than 300 signals with stolen or vandalised equipment, and residents in Polokwane reported 21 intersections with broken lights. Ekurhuleni spent roughly R120 million on repairs in a single financial year before replacing signals at some high-risk intersections with stop signs. In Gauteng, the provincial Department of Roads and Transport appointed contractors in July for a repair programme expected to take 36 months.
Cost of dead intersections to motorists
An idling passenger car uses roughly one to two litres of fuel an hour. For a commuter stuck for close to an hour, that means up to two litres burnt while barely moving, with 95 unleaded costing R30.25 a litre inland this month. The JRA, meanwhile, carries a maintenance backlog of more than R115 billion against an annual budget of R1.8 billion.
“Theft explains a broken light. It does not excuse leaving it broken. The first step costs almost nothing: publish the list,” Ramagwede said. Cape Town is piloting buried concrete chambers that seal wiring and components, with sensors that alert law enforcement and batteries for power cuts.
AA advice for road users and voters
Until repairs are done, drivers are advised to treat any dead traffic light as a four-way stop, keep windows up and valuables out of sight, and slow down on unlit roads. Pedestrians should wear light-coloured or reflective clothing, carry a torch and walk with others after dark. Employers are asked to consider how shift workers travel before sunrise and after dark.
Voters are urged to plan their trip to and from polling stations and to set up AA Armed Response on the MyAA app before 4 November. Faults should be reported to the municipality with the reference number kept, and consumers needing the AA’s mediation on a mobility issue can email theaa@aasa.co.za.
Supplied by QuickPic (AA)
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