Before we dive in, let’s have a quick recap.

A bill was proposed a while back, amidst a fair amount of controversy, called the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Bill.

You might remember it as the bill that wanted to introduce a demerit system for South African drivers.

Well, despite all the pushback and everything that could go wrong with the demerit system, it is now law and in full effect, which means it’s time to take notice of how you could accumulate demerit points.

One of the ways that you’ll get busted and sent to the metaphorical naughty chair is by speeding.

This is also one of the ways that the system is a tad flawed, because as any South African with a driver’s licence knows, sometimes the Traffic Department gets it wrong.

Take it away, MyBroadband:

There have been reported cases of drivers being issued with incorrect speeding fines, which can be difficult to combat.

It is relatively difficult to incur a speeding fine in South Africa if you stay below or at the speed limit at all times when driving, as there is a rule stating that no drivers may be prosecuted for travelling up to 10km/h over the limit.

Still, according to Justice Project South Africa chairperson Howard Dembovsky, a lot of drivers try to abuse this margin and get busted for speeding.

“The other thing that needs to be borne in mind is that South Africa has general speed limits, where no speed limit sign prescribing the limit need be displayed,” Dembovsky said.

“People forget this and fail to abide by the general speed limit, choosing instead to presume that the speed limit is more akin to the physical features of a road.”

To get back to basics, as a general rule our speed limits are:

• 60km/h on a road in an urban area
• 100km/h on a road outside of an urban area
• 120km/h on a freeway

Good to know. So what happens if you are issued with a fine that you don’t deserve? You can contest it, but you’d better be sure that you’re on the right side of the law.

Dembovsky told MyBroadband that if you receive a speeding fine which you believe to be incorrect, the first thing you should realise is that a traffic fine is an allegation of wrongdoing.

“If a motorist feels that he or she has been falsely accused, then he or she can make a written representation to that effect,” he said.

“Alternatively, in the case of the Criminal Procedure Act, he or she may await the summons and then defend the matter in Court.”

In the case of infringements in terms of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act, no-one is automatically entitled to their constitutional right to a trial, but must instead elect to be tried in Court.

In short, you can write a complaint and send it to the appropriate authorities, or argue your case in court.

Drivers should always check the traffic fines they receive to determine whether the licence plate and vehicle is correct, as well as the listed speed limit and the real speed limit for the road.

“However, do not simply assume that the notice is incorrect. Check your facts thoroughly,” Dembovsky said.

“Often, people discover that what they thought to be the speed limit and what the speed limit really is, are two different things.”

Best practice is to make sure you’re always abiding by the speed limit or driving just under it.

If you need some motivation to stop yourself from putting your foot down on that accelerator, consider this:

“If every motorist simply stuck to the speed limit, almost every traffic department and many municipalities in South Africa would go bankrupt.”

“That is not to say that anyone is doing their civic duty by feeding these greedy entities,” he said.

Your hard-earned Randelas shouldn’t be going to traffic fines. You’re better than that.

Drive safely, and read up about the new demerit system here.

[source:mybroadband]