Traffic officer in SA arrested for driving at 274km/h

JOHANNESBURG - A traffic officer from Louis Trichardt, South Africa, was arrested after he drove at more than twice the speed limit in his personal Mercedes-Benz over the weekend.

Joe Munyai was nabbed near Bandelierkop on the N1 on July 3 by two provincial traffic officials, who had a new mobile recorder in their patrol car, after he allegedly clocked 274km/h in his Mercedes-Benz C200 Kompressor.

The part of the N1 has only single traffic lanes with a speed limit of 120km/h.

“It looked like he was on the Kyalami racetrack,” 24.com quoted Clarissa Naidoo, spokesperson for the provincial traffic department, as saying.

This particular car’s top speed is only 235km/h, according to Media24 motoring journalist Marnus Hattingh.

But Naidoo, as well as Gordon Horn of the Limpopo traffic department and provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mohale Ramatseba, insisted that Munyai had been caught at 274km/h.

Munyai appeared in the Bandelierkop Magistrate’s Court on July 5. Ramatseba said he was released on bail of R1 000. He will appear in court again on July 9.

Louis Bobodi, spokesperson for the Makhado municipality, said Munyai has not been suspended.

Naidoo said Pinkie Kekana, the MEC for transport, was very upset about the incident. (ANI)