The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act implementation process has once again stumbled and Aarto manager the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) can't say why.
Executive manager for Aarto at the RTMC Basil Nkhwashu previously said a summit on the Act would be held around the end of June. However, this did not occur.
Nkhwashu says the RTMC cannot comment on why the summit didn't go ahead as planned. “We are busy sorting out logistics for the summit now and we will have a date by next week.”
Avoiding backlash
The Act was supposed to be rolled out around April, but the Department of Transport (DOT) decided to hold public consultations on the matter first.
This was to avoid the backlash that accompanied the controversial Gauteng e-tolling project, where toll fees were announced with no public engagement and then suspended due to outrage over the prices and system, as a whole.
A period of time was given for written submissions from the public on Aarto and has subsequently closed. The RTMC says it only received 13 comments on Aarto during that time.
The summit is the next step in the consultation process. It will see industry players and stakeholders, including organised labour, municipalities, provinces and taxi organisations, come together to address the Act.
The RTMC and Tasima, which developed the technical systems for the project, say the initiative is ready for rollout on the technical side.
“Aarto is ready. It's just a matter of when the minister decides to gazette it. There's no technical reason for the Aarto delay. It's ready and can be switched on,” says Tasima CEO Tebogo Mphuti.
DOT spokesperson Logan Maistry says the department does not want to rush the consultation process and so there is no rough date for implementation as yet.
No crime
With the Aarto system, drivers gain demerit points when they commit traffic offences and this will be reflected on the National Contravention Register on eNatis. After 12 demerits are gained, a driver's licence will be suspended.
Aarto is for the benefit of the road user, because - at the moment - licences can be suspended for one offence and could result in a criminal record. However, with Aarto, a motorist has to diminish all their points before their licence can be suspended and there is no criminal record, says Maistry.
The RTMC previously said it would spend over R300 million on IT and marketing for the demerit system.
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