[imagesource:here]
Stricter road rules are about to hit drivers across South Africa in T-minus 17 days.
The new demerit system will be rolled out under the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act, according to an announcement by South Africa’s Department of Transport.
Although the proposed bill has come under fire from civic organisations as well as other traffic law-enforcement agencies within the country, the new system is said to come into effect with the first phase starting from July 1, IOL reports.
Each driver will start at zero demerit points on their licence and can incur points depending on the nature of the traffic violation.
Demerit points are attached to around 1 000 violations and could range from one to six points based on the seriousness of the specific offence.
If a driver accumulates more than 15 demerit points, their licence will be suspended for three months.
Beyond the 15-point threshold, a further three-month suspension will be added for every demerit accumulated.
A licence can only be suspended twice until it is totally cancelled.
Anyone who drives with a suspended licence will receive an additional six demerit points, and could even face jail time when convicted.
However, if a motorist doesn’t have any infringements within a three-month period, one point will be reduced.
There are a total of 100 violations listed within Schedule three of the five phases for the AARTO Regulations that will give a driver six demerit points and mandatory court appearances, as per Business Insider SA.
Here are some of the violations with their corresponding fines and points:
Then, the more serious six-point offences that will put a motorist straight into court without the option to pay an admission of guilt fine, include:
- Failure to stop a vehicle on command of a traffic officer.
- Operating a vehicle contrary to the class of vehicle to which such driving licence relates.
- Driving 91-92 km/h in a 60 km/h zone, 161+ km/h in a 120km/h zone, 110+ km/h in an 80 km/h zone, and 70+ km/h in a 40 km/h zone.
- Operating a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug with a narcotic effect.
- Failure to ascertain if someone was killed or injured or the extent of injuries at the scene of an accident in which he or she was involved.
- Riding in or driving a vehicle without the consent of the owner, operator, or person in lawful charge thereof.
- Using or making a number plate that did not comply with the prescribed specifications.
- Falsifying or counterfeiting a certificate, licence or other document issued or recognised in terms of the Act.
But the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) is not so chuffed with a couple of the elements in the bill.
Because the success of the system will need to rely on various outside bodies, like the South African Post Office (SAPO) and Government Printing Works (GPW), RTIA is concerned about how the COVID-19 pandemic and reliance on third parties could lead to administrative issues.
RTIA also mentioned their concern that the bill could be used for monetary gain rather than enforcing road safety.
A Johannesburg-based NGO, The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), is also questioning the bill, saying they would consider approaching the South African courts to postpone the roll-out of the Act and declare the legislation unconstitutional.
Let’s see how this pans out, but in the meantime, you might want to practice being über diligent on the roads.
[sources:businessinsider&iol]
