South Africa’s new driving laws open the door to corruption: CEO
CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, says South Africa’s new driving laws are more of a money-making tool than a road safety initiative.
Earlier this week, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act is constitutionally valid – dismissing Outa’s legal challenge to the law.
The Aarto Act, already in effect in Johannesburg and Tshwane, will introduce a demerit system where a person, operator or company (juristic person) pays a penalty and gets points when a traffic violation is committed.
Drivers will start with zero points and earn demerit points via the Aarto process.
The threshold is currently a maximum of 12 points, and anything above that will incur various sanctions of suspension or cancellation of a driving licence.
The new laws also allow for additional offences to be added, including failing to update an address.
To achieve Aarto’s ambitions of reducing high fatality rates, motorists must have faith in the new laws.
“Yet, even before the High Court overturned Aarto, the public had little faith in Aarto. There are concerns there is too much opportunity for corruption to creep into the system and too many instances where additional fees make the demerit system more of an income generator than a road safety strategy,” Herbert said.
“Additionally, businesses perceive Aarto as a potential administrative headache. It has extensive administrative burdens associated with it in an environment where legislative requirements already weigh down organisations. Consequently, considering these concerns, Aarto is already off to a bad start in gaining public support.”
He added that adjustments to the Act are necessary if authorities want to see a simple and successful transition from current laws to Aarto.
Warning to motorists
Herbert noted that to avoid any unwelcome encounters with police, motorists should abide by the rules of the road.
“Placing the onus of successful implementation on authorities alone is not enough. As much as drivers are concerned about corruption, they are also the most effective means of preventing it. If there are no drivers to participate in the corruption, then there is limited opportunity for it to occur,” the CEO said.
“As for concerns about costs and administrative burdens, the driver again holds the power to avoid these. The ultimate goal of a demerit system is to reduce the rule-breaking that leads to crashes on the road. Thus, the solution can be as simple as being a law-abiding driver.
“This relates to the fourth concern, not noted in the media as much, which is the objection to a demerit system that makes it more difficult to break laws without behaviour-changing consequences.”
Although numerous issues with the legislation need to be addressed, Herbert said that Aarto will become a reality, and, in the meantime, drivers must ensure that they do not drive in a way that will get them in trouble with officials or endanger other motorists.
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