New transport demerit system implementation pushed back for another year
Minister Fikile Mbalula said there were still regulations to be promulgated in the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) act and more education was needed for motorists on the system.
The implementation of the new administrative adjudication of road traffic offences (Aarto) transport demerit system has been postponed until July next year.
During a virtual press briefing on Thursday, transport minister Fikile Mbalula blamed the postponement on delays caused by the coronavirus lockdown among others.
He said the system, which was originally scheduled to be implemented Thursday, July 1, was still subject to other finalisation proceedings such as the publishing of other regulations and consultations with key stakeholders.
“We need to clarify that there are still regulations to be promulgated,” said Mbulula.
“Consultation with the different MECs and minister of justice to seek concurrence is one of the things that will happen that will lead us to the signing of the act by the president.”
Mbalula said the roll-out of the system would be broken down in four phases.
This would ensure that all local municipalities fully adhered to the legislation, with lessons learnt from the operational jurisdictions of Johannesburg and Tshwane during the pilot roll-out.
“The fourth phase will wrap up the entire implementation of Aarto in 2022, when the points demerit system and driver rehabilitation programmes will be introduced.”
Mbalula said the system was “complicated”.
More education was needed and the roll-out next year would give the public the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the system.
“By the time we reach this milestone (phase four) there will be no excuse among our road users that they do not understand the implications and consequences of Aarto.”
Issues of maladministration and alleged corruption at Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), which runs the programme also contributed to the delay, he said.
“The board suspended a number of people there because of allegations of maladministration and corruption. We had to do the clean-out because we cannot not act on the auditor-general’s report,” he said.
“The aim of Aarto is to bring down the carnage on our roads. People must be held accountable.”
Phase two of the roll-out will be from October 1 to December 31. It would see the Aarto system online set-up of 67 metropolitan municipalities, including the Tshwane metro.
This would involve the establishment of 18 more service outlets, the adjudication process coming online in all provinces and appeals tribunal coming into full operation.
Demerit points for an offence range from one to six, depending on the nature of the offence.
The threshold of demerit points that may be incurred without consequence is 15 points.
If the threshold is exceeded, one’s driving licence card or operating permit will be suspended for three months for each demerit point by which the threshold is exceeded.
Once a driving licence card has been suspended twice, exceeding the threshold will result in it being cancelled. This means the person will have to start from scratch, with a learner’s licence if they wish to drive again after the lapse of the prohibition period.
R215-million was allocated for the implementation of the programme in the department’s budget this year.
Joining the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) to present progress made on the rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) @MbalulaFikile @rtia_aarto https://t.co/Aysl0PHIeJ
— Department of Transport (@Dotransport) July 1, 2021
Read original story on rekord.co.za
