Around 5 200 unclaimed cellphones taken from drivers who were caught using them on the road by Cape Town traffic and law officials are to be auctioned and given to charity.
The city of Cape Town revealed this in a news post on its municipal website and also stated that since implementing Traffic By-law in 2012, 9 465 cellphones had been confiscated and only 4 182 have been reclaimed.
‘The numbers are staggering and an indication that many motorists still refuse to acknowledge the dangers of using cellular phones while driving,” said Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security, Jean-Pierre Smith.
“Research shows that distracted driving due to texting or operating a cellphone while driving is more dangerous than drunk driving and has become the leading cause of road death in many countries. I therefore do not have an ounce of sympathy for motorists who have had the misfortune of being caught in the act by our officers”.
Reclaiming a confiscated phone involves forking out a release fee of R1 140 to a Traffic Services office. If you don’t claim your phone back within three months, the city is allowed to sell your cellphone, which it plans on doing at an auction that will take place on a yet-to-be-announced date.
Older phone models that don’t sell will be given to charitable causes.
Auctioning a phone however presents the city, traffic department and affected motorists with one major problem – private security issues.
Motorists are allowed to remove SIM cards when they forfeit their cellphones but lots of private information on apps, contact lists, message threads are often left on the phone.
Smith said they’re trying to figure out a way in which they can wipe all the phones before auctioning them so as not to compromise anyone’s personal details.
“We are awaiting the appointment of a service provider to assist with the removal of data from the handsets. Only once we have crossed that bridge, can we start looking at auctioning off the devices,” Smith said.
[Source – City of Cape Town, image – CC 2.0 by Lord Jim]
