Ndebele has high hopes for demerit system

There is no doubt that
the Administrative
Adjudication of Road
Traffic Offences (Aarto),
set to be implemented
throughout South Africa
later this year, will
significantly reduce road
crashes and deaths.
Speaking at a press
conference in Pretoria
recently, Transport Minister
Sibusiso Ndebele said the
implementation of Aarto
and the Points Demerit
System would certainly
reduce lawlessness on
the country’s roads and
contribute significantly to
a reduction in road crashes
and deaths.
“Aarto will also improve
the overall safety of road
users and encourage
responsible road behaviour.
The objectives of Aarto
include penalising drivers
and operators who are
guilty of infringements
or offences through the
imposition of demerit
points leading to the
suspension and cancellation
of driving licences,
professional driving
permits or operator cards,"
said the Minister.
According to preliminary
reports, more than 1 100
deaths were recorded
on South Africa's roads
between 1 and 31
December 2009. Between
1 and 6 January 2010, 103
fatalities were recorded.
Meanwhile, Minister
Ndebele has described as
"ludicrous" claims that
road fatality statistics
were being fixed. "Claims
that the road fatality
statistics were being fixed
are ludicrous. We at the
Department of Transport
have constantly maintained
that the number of road
deaths in our country is
totally unacceptable and
that one death on our roads
is one death too many. So
why would we fiddle with
statistics and what would
we achieve by doing this?”