Traffic Officer

The purpose of this qualification is to prepare a learner to operate as a Traffic Officer. A traffic officer directs, controls and coordinates traffic operations in pursuit of safety on public roads. They provide effective law enforcement through planning and co-ordination of road traffic matters to ensure safe, secure, and responsible use of roads in the republic. A qualified traffic officer will be able to: • Evaluate and interpret traffic flow and traffic crash patterns by applying standard methods and techniques in the context of road traffic legislation, road safety audits, statistical analysis, and relevant standard operating procedures. • Select, investigate, and apply appropriate methods, procedures, and techniques to ensure that vehicles comply with prescribed minimum standards of roadworthiness. • Implement and manage driver licencing testing centres' processes by assessing and certifying driver's licence applicants in accordance with prescribed legislation and procedures. • Collect, evaluate, and synthesize information derived from various data sources to prepare a case within the context of crime and crash prevention models. • Respond to crash and crime scenes, incidents as well dangerous goods events and manage a plan that encompasses various other role players to mitigate secondary risks effectively and efficiently in the preliminary investigations as a first responder. • Evaluate potentially dangerous situations and select an appropriate tactical response in accordance with the minimum force regulations, apply restraining techniques and use a firearm, when necessary, to protect oneself and members of society.

As at the end of June 2021, the registered vehicles population as per the National Traffic Information Management System (NATIS) reflected a total 12 913 175 vehicles. With every second person who enters the world of work wanting to own and drive a car, coupled with South Africa becoming a sought-after tourist destination the demand for an essential service of the traffic law enforcement is envisaged to grow exponentially. The need for this qualification stems from the necessity to revise the existing similar qualifications, namely, the Occupational Certificate: Traffic Officer with SAQA ID: 97639. Eventually the Occupational Certificate: Traffic Officer, SAQA ID: 97639 and the legacy qualification, FETC: Road Traffic Law Enforcement, SAQA ID: 62289 will be replaced by the revised occupational qualification. Amongst others, the significance of the revised qualification is the inclusion of crime prevention modules, and the basic firer fighting and basic first aid modules as well as the splitting of the previously burdened modules in the current qualification that reflected disproportion of credits to workload during implementation by the skills development providers. This qualification is geared to repositioning the training norms and standards of traffic officers in line with the envisaged development of a 21st Century Cadre of traffic personnel for South Africa. The development of this qualification did not only earn acknowledgement of achievement in South Africa, but also sparked interest from several members of Southern African Development Community (SADC). This qualification is ringfenced and can only be offered by Traffic Training Centres that have been approved in terms of the National Road Traffic Act, 93 of 1996. According to Section 3D (1) (a) of the National Road Traffic Act, 1996, (Act No. 93 of 1996), the minimum requirements for registration as a traffic officer, shall be that the applicant has obtained his/her qualification at a Traffic Training Centre approved as prescribed by Regulation 2B of the National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000, and the Policy Document of Traffic Training Centres as published in the Government Gazette no. 34292 of 2011. The above is reinforced by Section 18 of the Road Traffic Management Act, 20 of 1999 wherein the Shareholders Committee must accordingly, as part of the organisational structuring of the Road Traffic Management Corporation, establish a unit responsible for the training of traffic personnel amongst many other functional units to ensure effective management of the road traffic fraternity. Furthermore, it should also be noted that the legacy qualification, FETC, Road Traffic Law Enforcement, FETC, SAQA ID: 62289 and the Occupational Certificate: Traffic Officer, SAQA ID: 97639 were ringfenced as per the above-mentioned reasons, but have now reached their registration end date. The benefit to the traffic law enforcement fraternity from the revised qualification will be a pool of properly trained and competent "Responsible, Accountable, Relevant and Ethical" (RARE) traffic law enforcement officers. The economy will benefit as more ethical and legally compliant traffic law enforcement officers will be deployed to curb the unacceptably high levels of road carnage on our public roads. Consequently, millions of Rands claimed from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) due to road accidents will be saved as road crash rates reduce as is the orphaned children who relies on the social grants from the Department of Social Development The society will also benefit from safer roads since motorists/drivers are likely to obey rules of the road as more qualified traffic officers will be deployed and visible on the public roads. The typical learners are the new entrants selected by the different spheres of government responsible for road traffic law enforcement in terms of the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act 93 of 1996), as well as currently practising traffic officers who would access this qualification through recognition of prior learning (RPL). Learners who successfully complete this qualification will be eligible to operate as Traffic and Metro Police Officers, Examiners of Vehicles and Examiners for Driving Licences. Currently, no registration with a professional body is required for practicing traffic officers. However, after successfully completing this qualification, the qualified traffic officers will be required to register with the relevant enforcement authority in terms of the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA). This enforcement authority will issue them with an appointment certificate and an infrastructure number that will enable and allow them to execute their traffic law enforcement duties as authorised officers. Broader consultations were conducted with institutions of higher learning, department of transport, police and traffic training institutions and other transport agencies during the review of this occupational qualification.

• Apply standard methods and techniques in the context of road traffic legislation, road safety audits, statistical analysis, and relevant standard operating procedures to evaluate and interpret traffic flow and traffic crash patterns.
• Demonstrate the ability to select and apply appropriate methods, procedures, and techniques to ensure that vehicles comply with prescribed minimum standards of roadworthiness.
• Demonstrate the ability to implement and manage driver licencing testing centres' processes by assessing and certifying driver's licence applicants in accordance with prescribed legislation and procedures.
• Demonstrate the ability to collect, evaluate, and synthesize information derived from various data sources to prepare a case within the context of crime and crash prevention models.
• Demonstrate the ability to evaluate potentially dangerous situations and select an appropriate tactical response in accordance with the minimum force regulations, apply restraining techniques and use a firearm when necessary to protect oneself and members of society.
• Demonstrate the ability to respond to crash and crime scenes, incidents as well as dangerous goods events and manage a plan that encompasses various other role players to mitigate secondary risks effectively and efficiently in the preliminary investigations as a first responder.