| AARTO---------------------------------------- |
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Alta Swanepoel
has joined
the ranks of the FleetWatch team of correspondents as our
expert on transport legislation. To Alta we say: Welcome to the
wonderful world of FleetWatch and we look forward to you
sharing your extensive knowledge, insight and experience with our
readers. |
Alta Swanepoel, one of the
country’s foremost experts on transport legislation, is now writing
exclusively for FleetWatch on
legislation matters pertaining to trucking issues. In this, her debut
article, she gives an update on the progress of the Administrative
Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, 1998 (AARTO).
Eventually,
after a period of 10 years, the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic
Offences Act, 1998 (AARTO) has finally been implemented in the Tshwane and
Johannesburg Municipal areas. The new prosecution procedures were introduced
in July 2008 in Tshwane and although the new process was supposed to come
into existence in Johannesburg in November 2008, it was only implemented as
from 11 February 2009.
The AARTO Act legislates for
three different matters. The establishment and regulation of the Road
Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), the Administrative Adjudication
Procedure and the Points Demerit System.
The Agency has been
established and the administrative system is in place - but the Points
Demerit System will most probably only be implemented somewhere in 2010 once
the AARTO system is in force in the entire country.
 |
AARTO now has the
potential of introducing a new era for road safety in South
Africa. |
Minister
of Transport, Jeff Radebe is hopeful of cleaning up irregularities
in the trucking industry ...
our advice to drivers –
keep within the confines of the law in
all ways. |
 |
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Remember
AARTO is applicable to everyone who commits an infringement in the Tshwane
or Johannesburg
area |
The AARTO system has a few new
procedures that need to be explained to be fully understood:
-
An automatic process is in
place where in the case of a notice being ignored, new notices with
administrative costs will be issued. (R60 for registered mail letters
and R100 for delivered notices).
-
Automatic discounts are
given to encourage infringers to pay within 32 days of receiving a
notice.
-
Any owner of a motor
vehicle must have the name, copy of the ID or licence and the
residential and postal address of any person who is allowed to drive a
specific vehicle. Failure to be able to provide this information will
result in prosecution.
-
Registered mail is a legal
way of serving a notice. The last address provided by the infringer when
licensing a motor vehicle or when a driving licence is obtained, is used
for serving purposes. If a person failed to notify the authorities of a
change of address, it will not affect the serving procedure as the
notice is considered served regardless of if it was collected or
not.
The legislation also caters
for a new procedure in the charging of operators. The legislation caters for
a procedure where operators are charged when drivers are caught committing
certain infringements. Any infringement for unroadworthiness of a vehicle,
overloading, the transportation of Dangerous Goods or infringements where
the driver is not legally licensed or does not have a valid professional
driving permit, will result in an infringement against the operator.
Operators are the owners of goods vehicles with a GVM over 3 500kg, all
buses and minibuses as well as all goods vehicles transporting Dangerous
Goods.
The Points Demerit System is
not yet in force but the principles of the system are as follows:
-
Every operator and driver
will have 0 points against his/her name when the system is implemented.
As long as he/she does not collect (amass) more than 12 points, he/she
will remain legal.
-
If an operator or a person
has points against his/her name, good behaviour will be rewarded. For
every three months that no points are accumulated, one point will be
subtracted until the licence or operator card has zero points.
-
If points are accumulated
and exceed 12 points, a person or operator is disqualified for three
months for every point over 12 points.
-
AARTO is going to ensure
that operators control their drivers and vehicle fleets to ensure the
continued use of their vehicles.
-
Procedures need to be put
in place to ensure that the Act be complied with.
-
Fines cannot be paid on
behalf of drivers. All notices must be redirected to the actual
offender.
The notices are:
-
Infringement Notice –
Valid for 32 days: A person can pay and receive a 50% discount, apply to
pay the amount over a period of time or choose to go to court or make a
representation.
-
If the notice is ignored,
a courtesy letter is issued. No discounts are allowed after this.
Failure to act on the courtesy letter will result in an enforcement
order being issued.
-
An enforcement order
automatically blocks transactions on NaTIS and the demerit points are
allocated to the licence or operator card.
-
If no action is taken to
finalize the enforcement order, a warrant is issued. A warrant allows a
sheriff to seize property which can be sold to ensure payment of the
infringement.
A few examples of the penalty
for infringements are:
-
Failure to stop at a stop
sign: R500 and 1 demerit point
-
Speeding at 130 km/h in a
100km/h zone: R11 000 and 3 demerit points
-
Goods vehicle with
incorrect information plate: R11 000 and 3 demerit points.
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