Will Aarto ever see the light of day?

When, if ever, are we likely
to see the national rollout
of the Administrative
Adjudication of Road Traffic
Offences Act. (Aarto)?
This as the Road Traffic
Infringement Agency
(RTIA) and the department
of transport are due
to be “embarking on a
widespread and extensive
consultation process”. This,
it was said, was necessary
“to ensure enough buy-in
and awareness” from all
stakeholders who would be
impacted by the national
roll-out of Aarto.
“If I was a gambling
man,” said Garth Bolton,
joint CEO of road transport
major Cargo Carriers and
board director of the Road
Freight Association (RFA),
“I’d say it’s not going to
happen for a long time, if
at all.”
He pointed out that Aarto
had seen many false starts
since its promulgation
18 years ago in 1998. It
eventually struggled into
implementation on a pilot
basis in Johannesburg and
Tshwane.
But, according to Bolton,
previous
efforts to
roll it out
countrywide
have been
strongly
opposed.
“There are
just too many
questions
that still
haven’t been
answered,” he
added.
Under the demerit point
system, habitual traffic
offenders will have their
drivers’ licences suspended
or revoked if they accumulate
the maximum of 12 points.
“The (road transport)
industry, for example, has
issues about what may
happen, like drivers who
drive professionally, but also
in their private capacity.
They effectively have double
the chance of getting their
licences revoked.
“And what happens if a
driver’s licence is revoked?
Do we have to keep paying
him even if he
can’t drive?”
Bolton
also pointed
to a possible
reaction from
the workers in
the industry.
“The unions
are very likely
to come out
strongly
against this
system as the authorities
just haven’t addressed the
workers’ concerns.”
Questioned about
whether this system
would make a difference
to heavy-duty vehicle
driver safety, Bolton took
a distinctly cynical stance.
“What you mean is, is it
going to result in better
behaviour, or just bigger
bribes and more often?”
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I’d say it’s not going
to happen for a long
time, if at all.
– Garth Bolton