AARTO is Better - Government Backs New Policy
Parliament’s transport commission came out in full support of the new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) on Tuesday the 16th of November, as Chairperson Ruth Bhengu spoke at great length regarding the improvements the policy has over previous traffic laws.
She stated that the committee believed the new policy to be superior due to its encouragement of drivers to become more proactive in avoiding violations. The stern nature of the AARTO fines and penalties leaves little doubt that the current trend of increasing South African road accidents and deaths has reached an unacceptable level. Bhengu stated that the government was alarmed by these growing statistics and the current method was ineffective as a deterrent, seeing violators merely paying their fine and continuing along the same negligent trend.
"The current system does not deal with the root cause of the problem, it just deals with the symptoms," he said. Repeat culprits of AARTO infringement will lose their licenses and potentially even gain a criminal record making VISA application a very daunting process. The government has made it clear that although these penalties are indeed harsh, they are meant to be. The new system is currently in place on a trial basis in Johannesburg and Pretoria with reports of hundreds of thousands of fines already being issued.
Transport Minister Ndebele stated that thousands of people are being killed or gravely injured per annum due to reckless SA driving. Ndebele went on to point out that AARTO offered 12 chances, for self-correction, to drivers to improve before the harshest penalties were implemented against them, a set of chances which the previous system did not grant. "AARTO introduces an improved regime. A bad driver is afforded a window to become a good driver. That happens over time. That happens not after one infringement, as currently as is the case, but with 12."
The Transport Ministry is clearly set on the new AARTO system and those citizens who don’t become aware by choice will do so by experience.
Author : SASM
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