Cape grows steady pile of confiscated cellphones

22 July 2015 - 02:03 By Aphiwe Deklerk

Cape Town traffic authorities have confiscated 9465 cellphones from motorists since new bylaws were introduced in 2012 - an average of 3155 a year. The bylaw, which allows Metro cops to impound cellphones when they find motorists using them while driving, allows drivers to reclaim their phones after 24 hours. But less than half of them have been reclaimed.But JP Smith, safety and security member of the mayoral committee, said only 4182 had been collected.Motorists talking on the phone while driving are given a R500 spot fine. They must then pay a further R1100 to get their cellphone back.After three months cellphones that have not been collected may be sold by the city."We are navigating our way through unchartered territory, particularly relating to the issue of personal data that remains on the phone even with the removal of the SIM card," said SmithHe said Cape Town was still waiting to appoint a company that could assist with removal of data from the phones."Only once we have crossed that bridge can we start looking at auctioning off the devices," he said. ..

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