The amendment of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act has in no way allayed concerns around this pending legislation, and will, in fact, hit the road transport industry as hard as the original bill.
Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association, said with government forging ahead with plans to implement Aarto on June 1, there has been no word about the comments the organisation has made on the amended regulations other than an acknowledgement of receipt and that they would be considered.
“With implementation almost upon us we have severe reservations about this legislation,” said Kelly, indicating that the RFA, along with several other organisations, maintained that major changes were required and that it could not be implemented in its current form without dire consequences.
“Over and above the constitutional concerns that exist, the operational implementation of what the government has proposed in the last regulations seen by industry in October 2019, will kill businesses and the economy,” he said.
According to Howard Dembovsky, who launched a High Court bid challenging the constitutionality of certain foundational provisions of the Aarto Act in April 2018, there is no denying what damage the implementation of the amended Act will cause.
He said not only would the roll-out on a national scale cost the country billions, but he also believed it would cause massive damage to the credibility of traffic law enforcement.Most stakeholders are not opposed to the implementation of Aarto’s point’s demerit system, but rather the manner in which it is being done.
“If a traffic officer alleges you have done something, then according to Aarto it is assumed you have done it. How are you going to disprove this? How are you going to prove in writing, to a court, that you did come to a complete standstill at a stop street for example,” said Dembovsk y.
Kelly said this was one of the biggest concerns as, according to Aarto, drivers were presumed guilty and would have to prove their innocence to the State.
“Another concern is the proposal that for every infringement notice issued, a penalty levy of R100 must be paid. There has been no indication anywhere whether this will be refunded once drivers have proved their innocence.”
The Johannesburg Metro alone issued 340 000 notices in 2018. Another issue was that transporters would have to pay every time they wanted to check on the points issued to their vehicles and/or drivers.
“One of our members has worked out that checking the points of every vehicle and driver in his f leet just once a month will cost R1.2 million. That is before he has paid a fine or appeared in court. That is just to see what the points are. It is not just unaffordable, but completely ludicrous.”
Kelly said the RFA was keeping an eye on Aarto developments and had sought legal opinion on the matter
