Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Archives

Safety principles to keep you out of trouble with the law

vuyi on October 26, 2021

New traffic management legislation is set to catch many motorists by surprise as it rolls out over the coming months.

New traffic management legislation is set to catch many motorists by surprise as it rolls out over the coming months. Stricter penalties for even minor infractions could land you in hot water. Sharon Pretorius, Regional Operations Manager at Supa Quick offers the following tips on how to not only stay safe but stay on the right side of the law.

In July, the Minister of Transport reminded South Africans that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act had started to be rolled out, after a year of delays due to the pandemic.

Under the new law, you could easily and quickly accumulate the 12 demerit points that can result in a license suspended. For instance, just driving at 90 km/h in a 60kph zone could earn six demerit points in one shot.

While good driving can keep you from being legally penalised, it is only one piece of the puzzle. Here are four key focus areas where you can keep your vehicle in the best condition, ensuring that you don’t have any accidents.

1. Power

It is vital to ensure optimal functioning of your vehicle’s power system, especially as you adapt to changes in weather and emergencies. Ensuring that your battery, spark plugs, and exhaust system are in good order is one of the best and easiest preventative measures to ensure that you are safe in even the most extreme environmental, road and traffic conditions.

2. Visibility

Potholes, obscure traffic signs and unpredictable behaviour by pedestrians and other motorists was one of the most recurring issue reported in the recent 2021 Road Safety Run. While you can’t do much about external factors, you can ensure that your windscreen is clear of cracks, your lights are working, and rearview mirrors are properly installed. So, with the rainy season now upon us, you will be better able to see these external hazards and warnings ahead of time, not only saving lives, but a costly ticket as well.

3. Stability

Your vehicle’s ability to maintain steadiness in turns and sudden changes in speed is critical to helping you to better adhere to the rules of the road. A quick check of your shock absorbers and brakes, along with wheel alignment, will give you better stability, vastly bringing down your risk of being in an accident.

4. Control

The only thing between your fast-moving vehicle and the road is merely the width of the palm of your hand, the tyre. Such an important part of your vehicle should receive the attention it deserves, but it often doesn’t and a huge portion of crashes on long distance roads are often found to be the result of worn or damaged tyres. Properly balance tyres, with sufficient tread, will ensure that you maintain full control of your vehicle even in adverse weather, such as thunderstorms.

As was reflected in the recent 2021 Road Safety Run, roadworthiness is an effective prevention against road accidents. Following the easy principles above with regular safety checks at your nearest Supa Quick, rather than just looking at individual car parts, can offer you the peace of mind you need to keep you out of harm’s way, as well as out of reach of the long arm of the law.

Follow the rules to avoid losing your licence

vuyi on July 14, 2021

The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act that was expected to come into effect on 1 July 2021, will now be rolled out in a phased approach over the next twelve months. The rollout is expected to take a minimum of a year, with demerits and rehabilitation for bad drivers expected to come into effect between July 2022 and June 2023.

According to Lebogang Gaoaketse, WesBank Head of Marketing and Communication, AARTO remains in principle a much-needed initiative, the purpose of which is to promote safe driving and significantly reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities on our roads.

“It is well known that most road accidents are preceded in some form or another by a road traffic transgression, so improving our attitudes and behaviour on the road is indeed a matter of extreme importance. The AARTO Act aims to do just that,” says Gaoaketse.

Road traffic injuries and road offences place a massive strain on national economies, but they also have an enormous effect on households
– Lebogang Gaoaketse, WesBank Head of Marketing and Communication

Many road incidents are avoidable, and history provides us with evidence that the right interventions can make a substantial positive impact. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) – each year, more than 1.3 million people are killed on roads worldwide, and as many as 50 million are injured. It forecasts that there will be almost 1.8 million traffic fatalities annually by 2030.

We encourage road users to please abide by the rules of the road and by so doing, to play a much-needed and positive role in improving safety on our roads
– LEBOGANG GAOAKETSE, WESBANK HEAD OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION

“Not only do road traffic injuries and road offences place a massive strain on national economies, but they also have an enormous effect on households. Families may be driven into debt by the loss of a sole income earner in the household, the expenses of prolonged medical care, or the added pressure of caring for a family member who may be disabled as the result of a road traffic injury. The costs also impose significant impact on the health, insurance, and legal systems, and overwhelming sadness and economic consequences to families,” says Gaoaketse.

When the demerit system comes into play, drivers will run the risk of having their drivers’ licences suspended. If they continue to break the rules, they may be required to redo their learners’ and drivers’ licences. In extreme cases they will be permanently banned from driving. Under the AARTO Act, fines will also be significantly increased in an effort to deter drivers from breaking the rules.

“While there have been delays, we support the principles of AARTO. We encourage road users to please abide by the rules of the road and by so doing, to play a much-needed and positive role in improving safety on our roads,” says Gaoaketse.

Strict Motoring Rules For 2020

vuyi on March 8, 2020

Motorists will soon have to adjust their driving style in order to keep our of trouble with the law!

Two major traffic laws come into effect in June 2020, according to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. These are the new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act as well as a new zero-tolerance approach to drinking and driving.

0% ALCOHOL LIMIT

Initially discussed in November 2019, Minister Mbalula has confirmed that motorists will no longer be permitted to mix alcohol and driving whatsoever. Simply put, a 0% legal blood-alcohol limit will be effected meaning that the presence of even the smallest trace of alcohol detected in anyone operating a motor vehicle will be illegal.

At present, South African legal limit is 0.05% and drivers who adhere to the stipulated alcohol unit permissible have been considered a within the legal alcohol limits. The new law however does away with this completely from June 2020.

According to Police Minister Bheki Cele, over 24, 000 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol over the 2019/2020 festive season, a figure which translated to clost to one-third of all road related arrests made over the holiday period. This clearly shows just how dire the problem of drunk driving in our country is.

AARTO

In addition to the zero tolerance for alcohol law, Minister Mbalula also confirmed that June 2020 will see the introduction of the AARTO system, in which all traffic fines dispensed throughout the country will carry the same penal value.

That said, not all infringements will result in demerit points as roughly half of the violations laid out in Schedule 3 of the AARTO regulations do not bear any demerit points at all.

The AARTO system stipulates that a drier may incur no more than 12-demerit points on their license. Should a driver incur a 13^thpoint however, their license, would be suspended for a period of 3-months per every point over the 12 points ‘allowed’.

In spite of the criticism from organizations such as the AA and OUTA, Minister Mbalula remains undeterred and strongly warns motorists to prepare themselves for the introduction of the demerit system.

“We are going live. We take points. We take away your driver’s license. The President has signed this into law and now we are implementing it,” he said.