“Naturally, the offences are committed by those who drive the towing vehicles, and not by 'drivers' of the trailers, since trailers are by definition not self-propelled nor independently driven,” Sprague said in court papers.“The owner of the trailer is then presumed to have been the 'driver' of the trailer when a driving or moving offence was committed, or the one who parked it illegally.
“The result is that, more often than not, [we] are prosecuted for traffic offences committed by others ... Numerous traffic offences were recorded against us personally in various magisterial districts.” According to Sprague, in instances where spot fines were not paid, they were summonsed to appear in court, and were often charged with contempt of court and had warrants issued for their arrest.
They had tried many times to redirect fines to clients, only to find they had changed their addresses.SCA deputy judge president Xola Petse, who penned the judgment, rejected the minister’s contention and upheld the high court’s decision on Thursday. Four other judges concurred with him. “Consequently, it follows that the reasoning of the high court cannot be faulted,” the judgment reads. “The appeal is dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel.”