THE AARTO AMENDMENT ACT OBJECTION

SAMNET URGES ALL TO COMMENT BEFORE DECEMBER 1^ST 2020

Whether you are a Law-abiding citizen or not, this amendment has negative implications for one and all. The Department of Transport has created a platform for South Africans to express their approval or objections to the regulations to the AARTO Amendment Act and we urge each and every person to comment as soon as possible. Do not undermine the power that your objection could have. The deadline to comment is DECEMBER 1^st 2020.

To simplify this seemingly complicated scheme, this is what the AARTO Amendment Act means:

• When a traffic law is violated, a person, operator or company pays the penalty and incurs points. This is an automated system that works on demerit points. The demerit points are allocated to the operators and owners of motor vehicles. If a vehicle is suspended it may not be sold or used on a public road.
• The driver is responsible, not the vehicle and will be punished by the system. Thus, if one sells/scraps the vehicle, the demerit points will be allocated to the next vehicle registered by the same person.

THE POINTS WILL WORK AS FOLLOWS:

• The offender/infringer receives a penalty, and in addition to the penalty, they also receive the demerit points allocated to the specific offense
• If the demerit points exceed the maximum points (15 points), a person will be disqualified from driving or using the vehicle for a period of time (three months for every point exceeding 15 points)
• The points for the offenses and infringements range between six and one;
• The maximum for a person or operator card or a license disc for a juristic person who is not an operator is 15 points;
• The maximum for a learner driver is six points;
• The time value of each point is three months for disqualification or reduction purposes;
• If demerit points are allocated to a person or vehicle record and no further demerit points are accrued in three months after receiving the previous demerit point, a reduction of one point on the total number of demerit points will be recorded on the system.
• A person’s driving license card and the operator card of a motor vehicle must be handed in for the disqualification period;
• Upon a third disqualification, the licenses will be cancelled. A person must apply for a new learner’s license and driving license once the disqualification period is over.

THE AARTO REGULATIONS HAVE RAISED CONCERN ABOUT SOME ISSUES:

• Currently, an alleged infringer has the right to elect to be tried in court. AARTO replaces this right with written representations, a Tribunal and ultimately an appeal or review application to the Magistrates Court.
• Doubling the penalties (fines) which are currently payable – an additional burden on motorists in these economically unstable times.
• Although failing to pay e-toll and regular road tolls will no longer attract demerit points, the fines for these infringements will be doubled.
• The Regulations will make it a criminal offense to drive if a driver does not possess a driving license.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE ACT

There is no escaping, avoiding or delaying paying traffic fines with the AARTO act in place as it is an automated system that puts one in the position of having to prove their innocence and if they fail to do so, demerit points will be applied against their driving license/operator card or vehicle license disk.

False number plates are on the rise – the AARTO act will increase the problem of False Number plates and you could be fined for laws you are not breaking if someone is using your number plate. How would you prove your innocence and how much will it cost to appeal this case? This will still hurt your pockets whether you are innocent or not.

If your relative, friend or colleague uses your vehicle and happens to exceed the speeding limit, you will be affected not the person driving, as the vehicle is linked to your license. Similarly, companies that provide vehicles to employees will be affected greatly. The Person with whom the vehicle is registered could have their license disks/operating cards cancelled and could face more severe consequences for failure to nominate the driver when the company covers the cost of fines.

50% of the penalty amount, regardless of when the payment is made, goes to the authority figure that issued the fine. The Road Traffic Infringement Authority (RTIA) will get involved and add on heavier levies to the original amount if the amount is not paid for whatever reason. RTIA is the acting arbiter in collecting the debts for the Government and funded by traffic fines. All parties involved gain to benefit financially and will ensure you pay whether you were at fault or not.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES

1. OUTA – Opposing the AARTO Regulations
2. COSATU
3. Cape Talk – Why the City of Cape Town is against the implementation of AARTO

SAMNET strongly urges you to object to this, as anything implemented in Gauteng
will soon be rolled out to the whole country.

This Act is scheduled to be implemented NATIONALLY in JULY 2021. Comment on the draft regulations to the AARTO Amendment Act BEFORE 1 DECEMBER 2020.  You may do so by visiting: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/aartoregs/

CONTACT INFO

1. ADV QACHA MOLETSANE
    ROAD TRAFFIC INFRINGEMENT AGENCY
    TEL: 087 287 7978
    EMAIL: AARTO.Comments@rtia.co.za

2. ADV. NGWAKO THOKA
    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORT
    TEL : 012 309 3764
    EMAIL: AARTO.Comments@dot.gov.za