Motorists can expect the full national implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act – which aims to reduce the high rate of fatalities on the roads and improve driver behaviour – on July 1, 2024.
Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga made the announcement during a media briefing on Thursday. She said 43 service outlets had already been established across the nine provinces.
“As we proceed with the national rollout of Aarto, we will proclaim implementation in 69 municipalities by the end of this calendar year, while Aarto will kick in in the remaining municipalities by July 1, 2024,” she said.
“We are working closely with the Department of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs in ensuring that all municipalities have the requisite capacity to implement the law,” Chikunga said.
She welcomed the recent Constitutional Court ruling on the constitutionality of the Aarto Act, which confirmed that the law was constitutional and did not encroach on the executive powers of other spheres of government.
“The ruling affirms our long-held view that this is a necessary law to advance our efforts in arresting the carnage on our roads. We welcome this judgement as it provides clarity on the mandate of the national government to determine and enforce norms and standards that apply uniformly across the country,” Chikunga said.
“A fragmented system of adjudicating road traffic offences based on the whims of individual provinces would undoubtedly result in chaos and render road traffic law enforcement interventions ineffective.”
Chikunga added that the Aarto Act would reinforce other interventions such as classifying traffic policing as a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week job, alongside the regulation of driving schools and the introduction of a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 6 training for traffic law enforcement officers.
“The implementation of this law across the country has been pending for 25 years, with pilots in place in the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane. With this judgement having cleared the path for the implementation of Aarto, we will move with speed to roll out its implementation across the country without delay,” she said.
“We have had the occasion to engage with the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) in order to assess our state of readiness for accelerated rollout of Aarto across all municipalities in the country. We have completed the requisite processes to implement the Aarto adjudication process as well as the electronic service of infringements. The latter will come into effect as soon as the president proclaims the Aarto Amendment Act,” the minister said.
She added that the Department of Transport was ready to finalise its recommendations to the president for the appointment of a tribunal and the proclamation of implementation of the Aarto Act nationwide, as well as the promulgation of the Aarto Amendment Act.
“We have also completed the process of drafting regulations and have consulted with the minister of justice and all MECs. We are finalising the matter of concurrence by MECs and have received concurrence from the vast majority of provinces. This is a matter we intend to put to bed at the upcoming meeting of the shareholders' committee, made up of MECs responsible for transport and traffic matters.
“We will equally move with speed with the implementation of the points demerit system, an important cornerstone of the Aarto Act, intended to act as a deterrent for wayward motorist behaviour on our roads,” she said.
The Aarto Act introduces severe penalties for infractions, including the power to attach the immovable property of motorists who violate the law. – SAnews.gov.za
