The Road Freight Association (RFA) has commented on the structure and nature of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) since the first iteration of the Act in 1998.
The intentions are noble but the scope is too vast and the structure and processes far too intricate. From the beginning, the Association has said: make it simpler, make it focused and make it accessible.
The RFA is serious about improving road safety, increasing logistics efficiency and reducing the huge financial strain road crashes place on the country's medical infrastructure. We support attempts to improve safety on our roads by reducing the risks and aberrant behaviour that currently exist.
The major contributors to road incidents must be identified and clearly prioritised so that the causes of crashes resulting in injuries and deaths can be addressed through a concerted effort to change behaviour.
Throughout the world, successfully targeted actions focusing on programmes to modify aberrant behaviour have become the norm and have achieved results.
However, there are serious flaws in AARTO that will negatively affect the efficacy of the intended system and create significant operational challenges relating to vehicles. These could negatively affect the financial and operational sustainability of road freight businesses in South Africa.
Appeals Tribunal – administrative burden
The AARTO Act refers to the appointment of one Tribunal – not one per province, licensing authority or metropolitan area.
According to reports, 1 823 040 infringements were issued during the 2024 calendar year in Tshwane and Johannesburg alone. If 10% of these infringements are appealed, roughly 180 000 appeal cases would need to be heard by a nine-person Tribunal.
A simple calculation suggests that the Tribunal would have to hear approximately 850 appeals per day. This will create a bottleneck in the system.
What about all the infringements issued across the country once AARTO is fully operational? How will the Tribunal cope?
The appeals process will require documents to be handed in, stamped and signed, with copies returned to infringers by local licensing departments or issuing authorities that are already overloaded with their existing workload relating to the licensing and testing of vehicles and drivers.
These additional AARTO responsibilities will create longer queues and place more pressure on these centres.
The question is whether these centres will be able to cope with the additional burden, whether all local authorities and municipalities are aware of the additional duties AARTO will require, and whether they have budgeted sufficiently for these services.
Furthermore, Tribunal members are appointed on a part-time basis. How will they deal with the possible workload, given the potential volume of cases heading their way?
Finally, legislation requires the Tribunal to be appointed when the legislation is enacted. Where is the Tribunal?
Demerit points for vehicles
The RFA has always opposed the issuing of demerit points to vehicles.
Nowhere else in the world do vehicles receive demerit points to ‘change behaviour’. A vehicle is either roadworthy and fit to be used on a public road or it is not.
The objective should be to reduce risk and ensure that vehicles operating on public roads are roadworthy. If they are not, they should be removed from the road, repaired, inspected and issued with a new roadworthy certificate.
Currently, a vehicle can be suspended from operation on a public road and, once repaired and having passed a roadworthy test, can operate and generate income again.
The current legislation, when properly and consistently applied by road traffic authorities, will achieve the desired outcome far better than vehicles accumulating points and being barred from returning to service after they have been repaired.
The allocation of demerit points to vehicles could also affect the resale, trade and replacement of vehicles. Points allocated to vehicles could result in stalled or refused sales, reduced vehicle valuations, delays in fleet replacement and difficulties trading vehicles.
This could affect private vehicle transactions, from luggage trailers and caravans to passenger and commercial vehicles.
Vehicle replacement cycles and the operational requirements of businesses, including rental companies, fleet leasing businesses and transport operators, cannot be taken lightly.
In the case of representations, the process is time-consuming, highly administrative and reliant on authorities providing information, confirmation and feedback within prescribed timeframes.
If a representation is rejected, no discount will apply and the full penalty and applicable fees will be payable. Penalty levies are a revenue-generation process – nothing more, nothing less.
Exceeding the total number of demerit points for a particular vehicle results in the suspension or cancellation of the operator card for that vehicle.
Furthermore, Section 46(1) of the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 notes that a new operator card cannot be issued to an operator where any vehicle operator card has been suspended for the period of that suspension.
The Association cannot say it loudly enough or repeat it enough times: scrap points on vehicles!
Rehabilitation programme
Habitual offenders are eligible for a rehabilitation programme after the second suspension, as per the definition of a ‘habitual offender’.
While the RFA supports initiatives to improve road safety and the general behaviour of all road users, we are not convinced that AARTO will change the current behaviour of road users.
Finally, the impact a demerit-point system will have on drivers in a country where there is no adequate alternative public transport network is concerning.
In other countries where demerit-point systems are in place and have successfully improved driver behaviour, reliable, efficient and developed public transport services are available.
Having thousands of infringements and offences that must be policed and administratively dealt with is too great a burden.
Most other countries focus on between 15 and 30 behavioural causes. The results speak for themselves. These systems are simpler, have manageable processes and measurable results and, more importantly, achieve positive change in the identified areas.
It is time to radically rethink the way in which AARTO needs to be focused and applied.
