Withholding licence discs is unlawful says AA
The Automobile Association (AA) warns motorists there is no requirement as yet to pay outstanding e-toll fees before renewing a vehicle licence disc.
The association was commenting on reports that Pretoria advocate Anton Boswel was told a warrant of arrest had been issued against him because of unpaid e-toll infringements and that, for this reason, he could not renew his vehicle licence disc.
On further investigation, Boswel said he discovered an outstanding traffic fine was the actual reason for the refusal and not outstanding e-toll fees.
“My concern is that people are told they can’t renew their discs because of outstanding e-toll fees, but in fact it’s because of other reasons,” says Boswell.
“How many people will simply go and pay their e-toll accounts without checking further just to get their licence discs? In my mind this amounts to intimidation.”
According to the AA, the National Road Traffic Act does not make provision for the withholding of licence discs for outstanding e-toll fees and legislation that enables this action is still to be gazetted.
“We urge all motorists who have similar experiences to contact the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) immediately,” the association states.
The proposal to withhold the issuing of vehicle licence discs forms part of a new hybrid funding model for e-tolls announced by deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa in Parliament in June.
“However, this proposal has yet to be promulgated and cannot be enforced before this is done,” states the association.
The AA is opposed to the new measures, including the proposal that outstanding fees need to be paid before licence discs can be renewed.
The association believes this will lead to an increase in traffic on alternative routes in the province, and to an increase in the number of unlicensed vehicles on our roads as motorists cannot afford to pay outstanding e-toll fees or refuse to pay in protest against the system.
The AA stands by its earlier comments that the best funding model for e-tolls is ring-fencing a portion of the fuel levy as this ensures the cost of the system is not increased by administration and collection costs.
