GARDEN ROUTE & KAROO NEWS - The revived planned introduction of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act and the Aarto Amendment Act has been a hot topic among motorists recently.
Last week, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Aarto Act should remain in place. This ruling overturns a judgment by the Pretoria High Court in January 2022 which dismissed the system as unconstitutional and invalid.
The decision by the Constitutional Court comes after a successful challenge in late 2022.
However, the Automobile Association (AA) says that pilot phases of the act have failed to provide evidence that it is effective in saving lives. The act makes provision for the controversial demerit system that could ultimately strip repeat offenders of their driving licences.
The new laws will replace the current criminal system with an administrative one. This means drivers will lose points for offences and face suspension or cancellation of their licences if they lose too many.
George Herald reached out to the George Municipality to find out when and how this will affect George, but Traffic Chief Janine Wells said they would like to reserve comment at this stage as the Aarto roll-out will only be discussed at the next traffic chiefs meeting in August.
AA remains concerned
In a statement, the AA says it remains concerned that Aarto will not deliver on its intended outcomes of improving road safety and reducing carnage on our roads.
"We stand by our previous views that the Aarto legislation is geared towards revenue collection and not on promoting safer roads," the statement says.
In its submissions on the Aarto legislation, the AA has pointed out that the legislation is cumbersome and impractical. The association also previously noted that after the 2008 launch of the Aarto pilot project in the Johannesburg and Tshwane metros, the shortcomings of the act became clear in practice and that attempts to rectify these shortcomings only created further issues.
Accident expert speaks
In an interview with Cape Talk 567AM, accident specialist Craig Proctor-Parker said that in those countries where the demerit system is very strictly controlled, there is a higher percentage ratio of success, but he doubts that it's something that will work in South Africa.
"It's not that the Aarto system is not a good one, but that there are systemic issues that the act doesn't deal with. We can't just simply say, put [out] thousands of extra police that's going to target the problem - it's far greater than that.
"We need to have that sense of driver training, literally from your learner's licence through to your drivers, that is far more detailed and far more astute than it currently is," he said.
How it works
This system penalises drivers for traffic infringements using demerit points - with a demerit limit of 15 points. If a driver's total demerit points are exceeded, their licence is suspended for three months for every demerit point over 15.
Once a driver's licence is suspended for the third time, it is cancelled and destroyed. Drivers who continue to drive after their licence has been suspended are liable to a fine or imprisonment of up to one year.
Different infringements carry different numbers of demerit points. Depending on the categorisation of the infringement, it can carry up to six demerit points. Some infringements have no demerit points associated with them.
Most criminal offences carry six demerit points. A fully licensed driver may accumulate up to 15 demerit points without losing his or her driving privileges. Demerit points are reduced at a rate of one point every three months until they again reach zero.
During the suspension period, the affected person may not drive, or the affected vehicle may not be driven. Doing so is a criminal offence.
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