Aarto Bill signed into law
Motorists will collect demerits for every road traffic infringement that could see them having their driver's licenses suspended.
THE much debated and controversial Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Bill, has been signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa and adopted by Transport Minister Fikile Mbulula, who said the bill would go a long way in tackling the high incidents of road accidents and fatalities within South Africa.
The Bill, which will come into effect once it has appeared in the Government Gazette, paves the way for a demerit system.
The commencement date for its implementation has not yet been announced.
The bill, once implemented, makes way for a demerit system which will see drivers accumulate demerit points for every road traffic infringement.
Once 12 demerit points are accumulated, the driver’s licence will be suspended for a set number of months.
Once the suspension period lapses, drivers can apply to get their licences reinstated. On the third suspension, the licence will be revoked and the driver will have to retake learners and driver’s tests once the suspension has lapsed.
Mbalula said the bill would help to curb road carnage and lawlessness on the country’s roads which negatively impacted on the economy.
However, there have been mixed reactions regarding the bill which has been heavility criticised by civic associtions and those within the transport industry who have vowed to oppose this bill.
They have pointed out constitutional issues with the bill in its current form and describe it as ‘nothing short of a money-making scheme’ with severe detrimental affects.
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According to Rudie Heyneke of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), there are several unconstitutional issues in the Act that should have been addressed.
“Motorists who fail to pay traffic fines may find themselves unable to renew driving and vehicle licenses and an administration fee over and above the fine amount will have to be paid. Fifty per cent of the total fine amount, plus the administration fee will go to the Road Traffic Infringement Agency. Municipalities are set to lose out on 50 per cent of the revenue from traffic fines. As we all know, the majority of municipalities in the country are struggling financially,” he said.
Heyneke said the question raised by civic groups was whether a centralised body was needed to collect traffic fines for municipalities at a huge cost.
In an interview with Berea Mail, he said OUTA was peparing to challenge the Act in court to seek a ruling on the constitutionality on certain sections in the Act.
He said they would also highlight several shortcomings and point out some sections that will be very difficult to implement.
He said OUTA was calling on all organisations, businesses and the public, who feel the need to challenge the Act to stand together and support action that is taken against Government.
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