Proving negligent driving no 'slam dunk', even with CCTV footage

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Authorities are calling for hefty charges of drunk and negligent driving to be brought on a driver who hit two runners in Bantry Bay, Cape Town, in the early hours of Sunday morning last weekend. In the intervening days, shocking CCTV video footage has since emerged of the alleged drunk driver hitting the man and woman who were training for this weekend’s Two Oceans Marathon.

The regrettable incident comes just weeks after a Nigerian rapper wrote off a McLaren 720S in a high-speed crash just down the road. Both collisions occurred in the early hours of the weekend and were captured on CCTV video that has since gone viral on social media. So, you would assume prosecution by the city would be a foregone conclusion. However, a Cape Town official says otherwise, reports TopAuto.

PROSECUTION OF NEGLIGENT DRIVING

Despite footage effectively catching the culprits red-handed for negligent driving, the process of using video footage as evidence is a ‘cumbersome’ one. This is according Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for safety and security, Alderman JP Smith. He was speaking to Cape Talk following the spate of negligent driving episodes in the city.

Essentially, Smith explained that South Africa’s court requirements make using video footage very complicated. And difficulties arise when authorities do take legal action against perpetrators. “The criminal justice system is not on our side in this regard,” admitted Smith. “The courts want these videos verified. In other words, someone still needs to testify in court. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) does not deem the city metro to have investigative power. This means we cannot submit video footage ourselves as evidence to the South African Police Services (SAPS),” explained Smith.

Emergency services responded to a two-car collision on Loop Street in the Cape Town CBD on Friday afternoon. — Emergency services responded to a two-car collision on Loop Street in the Cape Town CBD in March 2025. Image: Facebook: TaurusMedicalFilmAndSportsMedics

Likewise, the process is just as difficult for personally recorded dashcam or cellphone footage. Essentially, the person who recorded it must submit it personally as evidence and then testify in court. This is so unverified or edited videos aren’t taken off social media and improperly used as evidence in court. Unsurprisingly, Smith explains this has yielded limited success. Because no matter the incident, very few people are willing to repeatedly go and sit in court if cases are regularly postponed.

Furthermore, when CCTV camera footage is used in litigation, there is a lot of red tape. The City of Cape Town reportedly has more than 2 000 CCTV cameras monitoring the streets. And private residents with their own CCTV cameras can also join the city’s wider surveillance network. However, South Africa’s privacy laws currently forbid citizens from sharing this data with members of the public. Citizens can request use of private CCTV footage, but this requires a case number from a SAPS case detective, and cannot be shared on social media.

In time, Smith hopes the City of Cape Town will be able to lobby for changes to the Police Services Act, which would grant the city investigative powers.