Despite being set to launch on 1 July, details of the planned roll-out of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) are still lacking.
It is now becoming increasingly urgent for the government and the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) inform the public of exactly what the process will be, says the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA).
The association said too many motorists are in the dark as to what will happen on 1 July – if anything – and how the introduction of the system will impact them.
The RTIA is the agency that administers Aarto and will also house the Aarto Appeals Tribunal which will adjudicate challenges motorists have to infringement notices issued to them.
“We raised concerns earlier this month about the lack of information and the exact timeframes for the implementation of Aarto. While there has been some reporting on the phased approach which will be followed, this has not been widely communicated to the public by the RTIA.
“Individuals and businesses are rightly concerned because Aarto will have an impact on them, especially on businesses as the costs of compliance with the system will be high,” said the AA.
To address some issues raised by members concerning Aarto, the Association has published a summary for all motorists.
“In October last year, we raised our concerns that Aarto does not support the government’s stated intention of promoting road safety but that it is instead a more effective mechanism for revenue collection.
“We raised these and other concerns in our submission on the proposed amendments to the Aarto regulations. Sadly, there has been no clarification on the final Aarto Act, and motorists throughout the country are still unsure of what will happen come 1 July,” the AA said.
You can find the full summary below.
Read: South Africa’s new driving laws are supposed to come into effect this week – but there are problems