The amended Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Bill, which was approved by Parliament’s portfolio committee on transport in February, is set to be signed into law by the president. Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association (RFA), has however advised operators to ensure they are up to date with the legislation which will come into effect soon. “It has been around since 1998 and it really will change the transport landscape,” said Kelly. “We as operators and owners of vehicles are going to have to manage and look after drivers very differently.” According to Kelly, Aarto will bring about three big changes. “Offenders will appear before a tribunal rather than a magistrate for traffic offences. “We had a lot to say about this – even going as far as getting legal opinion – but were advised that it was constitutionally sound,” he said. “Obviously, as is the case with many bits of legislation, the truth of the system and its functionality will only be proven on the day one has to actually go and defend oneself before this tribunal.” Kelly said the other big change, which was also potentially a huge obstacle, was that there would be no national infringement system for Aarto. “There are only two authorities in the country – Gauteng and Tshwane – that are currently running Aarto as a pilot. Interestingly both cities want to exit the programme, which in itself says something about it.” In addition, the new system lacks transparency. “So should you wish to be law abiding and see where your vehicles or drivers are in terms of demerit points, there is no seamless, cost-efficient way of getting those details.” According to Kelly, all the comments made by the RFA on the legislation at various levels to date have been ignored. “The comment has been that the problems will be addressed when and if they arise.” There’s no certainty about when the president will put his signature to the legislation, which will then come into effect.
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There is no national system to deal with infringements and we expect that to be a major problem. “ – Gavin Kelly
