Question NW1146 to the Minister of Transport
25 April 2016 - NW1146
Alberts, Mr ADW to ask the Minister of Transport
Whether any sections of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, Act 46 of 1998, have been officially suspended; if not, (a) why only certain aspects of the Act are currently being implemented, (b) why the demerit system is not currently being applied and (c) why the Act is being applied only in the particular geographic areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria; if so, (i) which sections and (ii) in terms of whith edition of the Government Gazette they have been so proclaimed?
Reply:
The original Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, Act 46 of 1998 was published in Government Gazette 19257 of 11 September 1998 where-after it was amended as follows:
- Act No. 22 of 1999, published in Government Gazette 19972 of 28 April 1999;
- Act No. 24 of 2000, published in Government Gazette 21428 of 02 August 2000; and
- Act No. 72 of 2002, published in Government Gazette 24577 of 20 February 2003.
There were no further amendment to the Act after the 2006 amendments. Refer to the attached document.
(a) When the AARTO pilot commenced in 2008 only certain sections of the Act were implemented to ensure that there is no discrimination between traffic offenders in the AARTO area and the remainder of the country.
(b) The allocation of demerit points to infringers in the AARTO area; as well the prescribed process following the accumulation of the maximum number of points resulting in the suspension and cancellation of documents, were regarded as being of a discriminatory nature and therefore not implemented.
(c) Recognising the complicated nature of AARTO in terms of its involvement of a multiplicity of role-players and the need to ensure seamless integration with various existing systems and procedures, the launch of the AARTO on a pilot phase in the jurisdictional areas of Tshwane and Johannesburg was aimed at testing the functionality of the full system, including the development of the National Contravention Register (NCR) on the National Traffic Information System (eNaTIS), and a great variety of forms, processes and procedures. During the pilot the roles and responsibilities of the various key stakeholders was also identified in providing an efficient and effective system. The implementation of the pilot also allowed for impact assessments to be conducted on all systems, identify any weaknesses and allow for the necessary enhancements to be made.
(i) The sections of the Act that are applicable in the geographic areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria are the following : 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and 35; and
(ii) In terms of Government Gazette No. 31198 of 1 July 2008 the above sections of the Act came into operation in the area of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality on 1 July 2008 and in terms of Government Gazette No. 31197 of 1 July 2008 the above sections came into operation in the area of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality on 1 November 2008.