Yes the penalty has two components, which is fair enough. When you receive that penalty, you have been charged and judged and sentenced. Thus when your licence is suspended you are being judged and penalised again. An interesting scenario, worth exploring.
Anthony Sterne
www.acumenholdings.co.za
DISCLAIMER The above is merely a comment in discussion form and an open public arena. It does not constitute a legal opinion or professional advice in any manner or form.
Hi guys
I have made a couple of enquiries. According to the Department of Transport the de-merit system had not been implemented nationally.
Ooh I thought it was. When is the national roll out for this system?
Not even the Department of Transport knows the answer to that question. As mentioned, this system is already pending for more than 3 years. According to the Department, sufficient public warning will be given when the system is to be implemented.
In this regard, I draw you attention to the following news release, the original of which can be found on http://www.buanews.gov.za/rss/10/10020910451001
Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System
Date: 09 Feb 2010
Title: Demerit system email 'without merit'
Pretoria - The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has urged the public to ignore emails making rounds that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) has come into effect countrywide.
According to the email, the AARTO was implemented from Sunday night. Under the system, motorists who commit offences will lose merit points.
RTMC spokesperson Thandi Moya dismissed the email as false.
"The rolling out of AARTO countrywide will indeed happen and the plans are at an advanced stage gearing for the national roll out. The exact day and hour of the national roll out will be confirmed and made public in due course," said Moya.
Moya advised the public to refrain from taking any information on AARTO as fact unless articulated by the Department of Transport or RTMC as the source.
"We call upon all members of the public to only entertain announcements made by the Department of Transport and the RTMC in this matter as these are the only centres with a legitimate and official voice on the facts surrounding AARTO and its implementation details," said Moya. - BuaNews
Last edited by Dave A; 15-Feb-10 at 08:36 PM.
AndyD (15-Feb-10)
Postponement of implementation dates for the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act
30 June 2010
The Road Traffic Management Corporation together with the Department of Transport has decided to postpone the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, originally set for the metropolitan authorities of Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay and the City of Cape Town on 1 July 2010 and on 1 November 2010 countrywide.
The proclamation to repeal the previous roll-out dates as was published in Gazette 33114 on 16 April 2010 was signed by the President yesterday and will be published today, Wednesday, 30 June 2010 in Gazette No 33341.
The decision to postpone the roll out, particularly to the metropolitan authorities, is motivated by the need to ensure effective implementation. It also recognised the critical role played by law enforcement officers and their commitment towards effective traffic control during the FIFA World Cup which prohibited preparations for AARTO.
This postponement should not be read as a deviation towards the commitment by the Minister, the Department of Transport and the corporation towards the achievements of the goals to promote road safety.
When the AARTO was implemented in Tshwane and Johannesburg, some issues that were identified during the pilot for further attention included amongst others the following:
* The need for the strengthening of the communication and education of the general public in order to ensure that all road users and people affected by the system had a full and clear understanding of their rights, duties and obligations and in terms of the AARTO process.
To that effect we have embarked on a communication campaign that you would have noticed in various media over the past two months.
* The role of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) as an adjudicating entity for road traffic infringements.
* Confirmation of systems performance issues from the authorities related to the electronic uploading of infringement information and the online, real time updating of transactions onto the National Contraventions Register. Currently there are different systems in use and the movement to the full utilisation of National Traffic Information System (eNaTIS) needs to be facilitated.
* Training of different role players in the use of the systems. To this effect the RTMC has developed standard operating procedures to be trained with all role players involved.
The RTMC reiterates that the decision to postpone was taken without any pressure from anyone. We will be announcing the new date for the rollout in due course.
Road safety has been identified by our government as a priority. To this extend it has been included in the performance agreement between the Minister and the president. We are committed to the AARTO implementation as one of the pillars of the road safety strategy.
This is in line with the Moscow declaration to which South Africa is a signatory. The fatalities and injuries on our roads are creating a society of orphans and unacceptable loss of breadwinners and a major cost to the economy.
We are therefore committed to ensuring that this ceases to be a daily occurrence in South Africa. An average of 38 people losing their lives on our roads on a daily basis is totally unacceptable.
We reiterate that the AARTO Act is a 12 year old legislation that is meant to assist in pushing pack this attack on the South African population. Therefore, we have to ensure that we save lives and that should be our preoccupation. Any other matters are secondary and should be dealt with as such.
Recognising that additional time is required to address the outstanding challenges, we vow to ensure that the AARTO is implemented successfully in this financial year ending 31 March 2011.
More...
Last edited by Dave A; 30-Jun-10 at 04:17 PM.
and the reason given for implementing the demrit system to reduce the death rate on the roads...maybe they should try fixing the roads.
and reason for not implementing it until next year...the world cup...yeah right they are not ready...the people who are suppose to run the system are not yet qualified and the infrastructure is not up an running yet.
one of the biggest down falls of this system...the people running it are set to make big bucks...run by a private concernbets you get you shaires in this operation it will be like toll roads...it a win win bussiness.
i feel the money they make from the system should be put back into the fixing the roads...but as we all know this is africa and its not about the rest of us...if the roads are a problem buy a bigger better 4x4
The demerit system has not been rolled out yet. They need to clear up some technical issues. Hope it's not a repeat of eNatis
...MMM... could be they are afraid that all the taxis could be off the road by the weekend if implemented?
Garth
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