Police Cash In On Fines
1 October 2021
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By A Correspondent- Police have raised nearly $32 million after arresting and fining over 44 000 touts, unregistered vehicles and cars fitted with dangerous bar headlights under ongoing operations being conducted countrywide.

Among those that were arrested and fined were 328 people that were found with dangerous weapons. Of those arrested, 21 790 were touts, 13 855 unregistered vehicles while 8 416 were motorists with cars that are fitted with illegal bar headlights.

They were all fined a total of $31 604 000 from Sunday to yesterday in separate incidents.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the operations were continuing.

“The ZRP has intensified operations on unregistered motor vehicles, touting and dangerous weapons among other crimes,” he said.

In July, police warned that extended headlights mounted on vehicles that have been blamed for causing fatal accidents are illegal.

Through Statutory Instrument 129 of 2015, Government banned the mounting of additional headlights by motorists. The law states that those who want to make any modifications to their cars should first seek authority.

Additional headlights which some motorists have fitted on their cars cannot be dipped, compromising the vision for other drivers.

This is said to contributing to unnecessary collisions, some of them fatal, at a time when human error contributes most to the country’s road accidents statistics.

“Those lights are illegal in terms of the law. Remember we have Statutory Instrument 129 of 2015 which was promulgated by Government. It makes it clear on the type of headlight that can be fitted on a vehicle which are either two or four and have dimensions required and the number of the required watts,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.

“So, all the motorists who include haulage trucks, kombis, buses and other private vehicles who are using these lights are committing criminal offences. And the message should be loud and clear that they risk being arrested. They cause accidents, they disturb the vision of other motorists and definitely the police will take action.”