Cape Town - Western Cape transport and public works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela said he had concerns regarding the readiness of the Road Traffic Infringement Authority (RTIA) to implement the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act.
This was after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the bill into law, which would come into effect when it appears in the Government Gazette.
Madikizela said the lack of readiness of RTIA was apparent when the Aarto Act was piloted in Johannesburg and Tshwane. “I understand that a proclamation still has to be signed by the president before it is implemented in the Western Cape,” he said.
“If the RTIA and municipalities are not ready to implement the Aarto Act, it is more likely to lead to a break-down of law on our roads,” Madikizela said, adding that the idea of creating a central Appeals Tribunal to deal with all appeals relating to fines was “ludicrous and unworkable”.
The City of Cape Town alone issued more than 2 million fines in 2016. “If a small proportion of fines issued around the country are taken on appeal, it would paralyse the system, and provide lawless road-users with a means to escape accountability.”
The bill is aimed at putting a stop to the carnage on South Africa's roads through initiatives such as blocking people who fail to pay their traffic fines from obtaining vehicle licences.
Bonginkosi Madikizela
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the Aarto Bill would introduce a points demerit system to punish repeat offenders.
The demerit system allows drivers to accumulate a maximum of 12 points awarded for various offences, before their licences are suspended. Continued infringements could result in licences being cancelled.
“Upon rolling it out countrywide, we will be able to adequately address the carnage on our roads. We are burying far too many people as a result of crashes. In 2018 alone, 12921 people lost their lives in road collisions.
Outa portfolio manager on transport Rudie Heyneke said they had opposed the bill from the start and were now planning a constitutional challenge to it.
“The focus should be on road safety, not on an administratively complicated system aimed at collecting revenue,” Heyneke said.