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?”