The final amendments to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Bill have been accepted by the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport and could change driving in South Africa in a big way.
The bill will go to the National Assembly for concurrence and will then be ready to be signed and become part of our law.
The amendment bill is expected to change driving in South Africa, with the biggest changes including:
– A new demerit system will be introduced, with one-6 points allocated for offences. If an infringer has more than 12 points, it will result in the disqualification of the offender’s driving license
– Failing to pay traffic fines can lead to being blocked from obtaining driving and vehicle licenses
– Where documents previously had to be delivered by registered mail, authorities will be able to serve documents via email and send reminders via WhatsApp or SMS
– The option for offenders to appear in court to challenge the prosecution has been removed.
The new demerit system is stricter and will see offenders served with a fine as well as points which may lead to a complete and final disqualification of their driving licenses in the long run.
Fines and demerits are issued in cases of invalid licenses, malicious behavior, failing to stop, overtaking or overloading, and speeding.
The final sign off on the amendments could take a while but they are sure to change driving as we know it as well as the behaviors of many motorists in our country.
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