Aarto is a weapon for the ANC to get e-tolls paid

If the ANC goes ahead with its draconian plan to use the Administrative Adjudication of Traffic Offence (Aarto) legislation as a stick to beat motorists refusing to pay e-tolls, the consequences could be enormous – and even deadly.

There are estimated to be about 1.5 million vehicles owners in Gauteng who have refused to become part of the electronic tolling system since it began in December 2013.

If Aarto comes into operation – after it was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, despite multiple objections – non-compliant motorists will be instantly turned into criminals and fined R250 for each gantry they pass under without paying.

For drivers of commercial vehicles, it will be even worse. They and their employers will be fined R500 per gantry transgression.

However, the drivers will attract one demerit point per transgression, which means many could have their driver’s licences suspended within the course of one trip. Without a licence, a commercial transport driver will be unable to work.

One would like to think that the ANC is perhaps unaware of this law of “unintended consequences”, but we think the realistic way to look at this would be that the political party has so much invested into the e-tolls project (need we really wonder why?) that it cannot abandon it now. Aarto is a useful weapon for the ANC.

Aarto allows the ANC and roads agency Sanral to bypass normal traffic legislation and tackle offenders in ways which many view as unconstitutional because they deprive citizens of their right to a fair judicial process.

However, trying to deal with more than a million “instant criminals” and more than a million newly illegal drivers will overload the system to collapse.

Also, if you thought service delivery protests were bad, wait till angry motorists get going …

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