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Outa says statistics don’t support the claim that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act will lead to a reduction in road fatalities. Picture: SEBABATSO MOSAMO
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has filed a high court application against the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act, asking for it to be declared unconstitutional.
Outa’s application, issued in the Pretoria high court, followed the national rollout of the bill, which includes the licence points demerit system, being postponed from its original June 2020 implementation date due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The respondents are the minister of transport, the minister of co-operative governance & traditional affairs, the Road Traffic Infringement Authority (RTIA) and the RTIA’s appeals tribunal. The minister of transport and the RTIA have filed notices to oppose the application and have until the end of September to file opposing papers.
The act was passed in 1998 to create a single national system of road traffic regulation and enforcement through the judiciary. The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act, passed in 2019 but not yet in operation, moves the enforcement of traffic laws to an administrative system. When the amendment comes into force, the Aarto system will be rolled out nationwide and the driver demerits points system will commence.
The amendment act was signed into law by the president and published in the Government Gazette in August 2019, but a date for it to come into effect must still be gazetted. In January, minister of transport Fikile Mbalula said the amendment would come into effect in June, but this was later delayed due to the effects of Covid-19.
“While Outa believes that measures to improve road safety and reduce fatalities are urgently needed, we believe that the [Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment] Act will not achieve this,” said an Outa spokesperson.
“Aarto was rolled out in Gauteng 10 years ago and failed spectacularly. Statistics do not support the claim that it will lead to a reduction in fatalities on roads.”
The application is supported by an affidavit by advocate Stefanie Fick, Outa’s director of the accountability division.
The application calls for the court to declare both the main act and the amendment unconstitutional. This, says Outa, is because this legislation unlawfully intrudes upon the exclusive executive and legislative competence of the local and provincial governments envisaged in the constitution.
Service of notices
“These constitutional inconsistencies of the [Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences] Act and the amendment act lie at the very core of both acts and are not capable of severance without negating the fundamental purpose of the two acts,” says Fick in her affidavit.
If the court finds that the law is not inconsistent with the constitution, Outa further opposes section 17 of the amendment act. This removes the requirement that service of notices and related documents must be done personally or by registered mail, instead allowing the use of e-mail, SMS or voice message.
“Given the serious consequences that may follow an infringement, such service is manifestly inadequate,” says Fick.
SA records about 14,000 road deaths a year and Aarto was seen by the government as a way to penalise repeat driving offenders with a points demerit system. Once the system is in place, drivers would start with 0 points and will be allowed to drive until they reach a maximum of 12 points.
Depending on the severity of the offence, one to six points are allocated for offences. A driver accumulating more than 12 points would result in the suspension of the driver’s licence. Three suspensions would result in its cancellation, with drivers having to redo their driving test.
Outa has been a staunch opponent of the proposed system, saying it would not improve road safety, is logistically cumbersome to the point of being potentially unconstitutional, and paves the way for corruption.
Outa also said the new act would be used to force Gauteng motorists to pay e-tolls, by making it an offence to ignore road signs that could include those listing e-toll charges.
“Outa believes that traffic fatalities are largely due to poor enforcement of traffic laws, a lack of traffic infringement management and a variety of problems in the management of vehicle and driver licensing. Aarto is not designed to address these problems,” said the organisation.
The Automobile Association has also slammed the bill, saying its provisions regarding demerit points appear to be geared more towards revenue collection than road safety.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
NEWS
Outa goes to court in bid to stop Aarto
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has filed a high court application against the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act, asking for it to be declared unconstitutional.
Outa’s application, issued in the Pretoria high court, followed the national rollout of the bill, which includes the licence points demerit system, being postponed from its original June 2020 implementation date due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The respondents are the minister of transport, the minister of co-operative governance & traditional affairs, the Road Traffic Infringement Authority (RTIA) and the RTIA’s appeals tribunal. The minister of transport and the RTIA have filed notices to oppose the application and have until the end of September to file opposing papers.
The act was passed in 1998 to create a single national system of road traffic regulation and enforcement through the judiciary. The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act, passed in 2019 but not yet in operation, moves the enforcement of traffic laws to an administrative system. When the amendment comes into force, the Aarto system will be rolled out nationwide and the driver demerits points system will commence.
The amendment act was signed into law by the president and published in the Government Gazette in August 2019, but a date for it to come into effect must still be gazetted. In January, minister of transport Fikile Mbalula said the amendment would come into effect in June, but this was later delayed due to the effects of Covid-19.
“While Outa believes that measures to improve road safety and reduce fatalities are urgently needed, we believe that the [Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment] Act will not achieve this,” said an Outa spokesperson.
“Aarto was rolled out in Gauteng 10 years ago and failed spectacularly. Statistics do not support the claim that it will lead to a reduction in fatalities on roads.”
The application is supported by an affidavit by advocate Stefanie Fick, Outa’s director of the accountability division.
The application calls for the court to declare both the main act and the amendment unconstitutional. This, says Outa, is because this legislation unlawfully intrudes upon the exclusive executive and legislative competence of the local and provincial governments envisaged in the constitution.
Service of notices
“These constitutional inconsistencies of the [Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences] Act and the amendment act lie at the very core of both acts and are not capable of severance without negating the fundamental purpose of the two acts,” says Fick in her affidavit.
If the court finds that the law is not inconsistent with the constitution, Outa further opposes section 17 of the amendment act. This removes the requirement that service of notices and related documents must be done personally or by registered mail, instead allowing the use of e-mail, SMS or voice message.
“Given the serious consequences that may follow an infringement, such service is manifestly inadequate,” says Fick.
SA records about 14,000 road deaths a year and Aarto was seen by the government as a way to penalise repeat driving offenders with a points demerit system. Once the system is in place, drivers would start with 0 points and will be allowed to drive until they reach a maximum of 12 points.
Depending on the severity of the offence, one to six points are allocated for offences. A driver accumulating more than 12 points would result in the suspension of the driver’s licence. Three suspensions would result in its cancellation, with drivers having to redo their driving test.
Outa has been a staunch opponent of the proposed system, saying it would not improve road safety, is logistically cumbersome to the point of being potentially unconstitutional, and paves the way for corruption.
Outa also said the new act would be used to force Gauteng motorists to pay e-tolls, by making it an offence to ignore road signs that could include those listing e-toll charges.
“Outa believes that traffic fatalities are largely due to poor enforcement of traffic laws, a lack of traffic infringement management and a variety of problems in the management of vehicle and driver licensing. Aarto is not designed to address these problems,” said the organisation.
The Automobile Association has also slammed the bill, saying its provisions regarding demerit points appear to be geared more towards revenue collection than road safety.
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