Drivers could find themselves receiving traffic fines by e-mail or ordinary mail following a move by the Road Traffic Infringement Agency to change the law.
According to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, all traffic fines have to be sent out to offenders by the metro police via registered mail. This has been costing the Johannesburg metro police department R8 million a month.
The fine, if not paid within 32 days, should then be followed by a courtesy letter from the RTIA - also sent by registered mail. The RTIA has failed to send even one out, rendering all unpaid fines since December 22 invalid.
AARTO AMENDMENTS
Following these revelations published in The Star in June, RTIA representatives rushed to Parliament last week and pushed through amendments to the Aarto Act on Friday, recommending that fines can be sent by ordinary mail or e-mail. This is for Johannesburg and Tshwane, where the act is being piloted.
The JMPD is spending R8 million a month in sending about 400 000 infringement notices by registered mail, but this is money wasted as the RTIA has failed to send a single follow-up courtesy letter to drivers since the department of transport demanded that metro police adhere strictly to the Aarto Act, to stop using ordinary mail and send fines by registered post.
About 10 percent of recipients pay their fines or collect them from the post office; the RTIA does not have the budget to spend about R7 million a month just on postage by registered mail, in Johannesburg alone. - The Star