Aarto unlikely to meet April 1 deadline date

It is highly unlikely that the new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto) will be rolled out by April 1 this year. According to transport ministerial spokesman Logan Maistry, while municipalities and traffic authorities were last week told to ensure they were logistically ready for the system by April 1, this did not necessarily mean it would be rolled out on that date. “The minister of transport has yet to announce the date of implementation for Aarto,” he told FTW. “This date will have to be gazetted and that all takes time. The minister would also not spring something this on the country. He would not say on Friday it starts on Monday. The country will get at least some time to prepare for it.” He said a letter by the RTMC was not an announcement by the minister. “We are still listening to concerns of various stakeholders and roleplayers. The department has also committed to holding a summit on Aarto. The minister will only announce a date once this entire process has been finalised.” Gavin Kelly, spokesman for the Road Freight Association, said they would be surprised if Aarto became operational by April 1 as reported in the media in the past week. “The process has not yet been finalised at Nedlac, the forum with the stakeholders still has to take place and there is still the matter of the urgent court interdict in the Western Cape should Aarto be rolled out there,” he said. The new Act, aimed at reducing South Africa’s high road death toll figures by encouraging compliance with the law through a process of allocating demerit points to traffic offenders, was supposed to have been rolled out in 2010. But, due to the logistical inability of many municipalities, the process was indefinitely postponed. Pilot projects are under way in Tshwane and Johannesburg. Kelly said there were still numerous issues on the table. Maistry agreed saying there was no rush in implementing the new system. “We expect to have teething problems, but we would rather minimise those challenges by making sure all issues are addressed by prolonging the consulting process now.”