The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) is finally ready to roll out the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act of 1998, as well as the Aarto Amendment Act 4 of 2019, after various delays and a litigation process.

A ruling by the Constitutional Court delivered on July 12 ultimately confirmed the legality and validity of the two Acts, which now enables RTIA to continue with the implementation thereof on a national scale.

Aarto was ruled unconstitutional by the Pretoria High Court in January 2022, following litigation brought by the civil rights group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).

Outa maintained that Aarto would usurp certain powers and functions of municipalities and that it was impractical. The organisation is confident that government will struggle to implement it, despite it having been declared constitutional.

In a statement shortly after the Constitutional Court ruling, Outa says the Aarto legislation results in troublesome and complex issues for most motorists and motor vehicle owners. It remains concerned that Aarto will not achieve the intended purpose of enhancing road safety.

“The Aarto Amendment Act with higher penalties, tedious and expensive procedures to be followed by the public, and the total lack of prescription on visible policing, will have little to no effect on improving road safety in South Africa,” Outa states, adding that merely legislating policy does not make it rational or workable.

The RTIA confirms it will revisit and review existing plans and make the necessary adjustments in implementation timelines, as well as prepare for the phased national rollout of Aarto.

Government believes one of the benefits of Aarto is that it removes the burden of adjudicating road traffic offences from the courts and places it within one central agency.

RTIA CEO and registrar Matsemela Moloi says South Africa’s road crashes and fatalities are unacceptably high, hence the need for an effective legal instrument that will enforce compliance and protect law-abiding road users from serial and dangerous offenders. 

AARTO PROCESS

The Aarto Act has been in force in the metros of Tshwane and Johannesburg since 2008.

Up to now, the way traffic fines were issued and progressed by the authorities in other jurisdictions of the country was through using the Criminal Procedure Act.

As its name implies, it is a criminal process and regards all violations of traffic law to be criminal offences. These offences are prosecuted by the National Prosecuting Authority, mainly in the Magistrates’ courts. The alleged infringer is always presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

The Aarto Act is different in that it “decriminalises” all but the most serious traffic offences and subjects them to administrative processes. It does this by categorising road traffic violations as “infringements” or “offences”. Infringements are dealt with administratively while criminal offences are prosecuted in criminal courts.

The Aarto processs involves an infringement notice issued at the roadside or to the registered owner of a vehicle after an infringement, to which the driver has to pay the penalty fine at a 50% discounted rate within 32 days, or apply to pay in instalments, or make a written representation to RTIA setting out why they should not be held liable for the alleged infringement.

If an alleged infringer fails to act within 32 days of the infringement notice, RTIA will issue a courtesy letter to the driver, which removes the 50% discount and adds a R100 fee to the total payable.

Again, within 32 days, the driver has to pay the full penalty, apply to pay the full penalty in instalments, or make a written representation to the RTIA to set out why they should not be held liable for the alleged infringement.

If the alleged infringer fails to act within 32 days of the courtesy letter, RTIA will issue an enforcement order, which applies demerit points to the infringer’s driving licence, operator card or vehicle licence disc. It also electronically blocks licensing transactions on the electronic eNaTIS system of the country, meaning that no driving licence, professional driving permit or vehicle licence disc may be issued or renewed.

The enforcement order attracts a further R100 fee, which by now amounts to R300 over and above the original fine amount. The alleged infringer may at this point apply to RTIA for the enforcement order to be revoked, but only if it is done within 32 days of the date on the enforcement order.

The Aarto Amendment Act makes provision for a part-time Tribunal comprised of nine members to deal with the affairs of appeal or review, should a representation office reject a written representation provided by an alleged infringer.

If the alleged infringer is not satisfied with the decision of the Tribunal, he or she may approach the Magistrates’ Court to appeal the decision of the Tribunal.

Moreover, the demerit system involves every driver, operator or justice entity starting with zero points, with demerit points being associated with violations of the rules of the road. The threshold of demerit points which may be incurred without consequence is 15 points, whereafter driving licence card, licence discs or operating permits will start being suspended for three months for each demerit point by which the threshold is exceeded.

Driving or operating a vehicle during the prohibition period is a criminal offence subject to a fine or imprisonment. No driver may apply for a renewed vehicle licence disc, operator card or any other permit during the suspension period.

Should a driving licence card or other permit be suspended twice, again exceeding the threshold, it will be cancelled – meaning that the person applying for a driving licence will have to start from scratch with a learner’s licence if they wish to drive again.

Demerit points are forgiven and diminished by one point every three months, regardless of whether the alleged infringer does or does not incur further infringements. However, no one can accumulate a negative number of demerit points, or be rewarded for good driving behaviour.

An individual, for example, incurs five demerit points and a penalty of R3 400 by driving at 89 to 90 km/h in a 60 km/h zone, while driving at more than 90 km/h in a 60 km/h zone is considered a criminal offence and entails six demerit points. Failure to stop at a stop street results in a R1 500 fine and two demerit points. Failure to display a current licence disc results in a R2 000 fine but no demerit points, while not having a driving licence on hand results in a R2 000 fine and three demerit points.

Driving under the influence of alcohol is a criminal offence and will amount to six demerit points.