AARTO road safety policies a growing concern for RFA

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The AARTO Act was promulgated in 1998 with the sole aim of addressing bad (unsafe) behaviour on our roads, by implementing a demerit point system for drivers, vehicles and operators resulting in licences, permits and operator cards being suspended or cancelled.

When the latest set of proposed regulations were published for public comment in October 2019, the RFA highlighted the pitfalls, weaknesses, severe risk to sustained business and proposed regulations that were being made.

"The proposed regulations had vehicles being held 'accountable' for the behaviour of drivers (in some cases) or operator/owners in other cases. How do you change the behaviour of a vehicle? Fast forward to 2020 and, notwithstanding much interaction between the various government authorities tasked with implementing AARTO including the Deapartment of Transport (DoT), the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), and we are no closer to a reasonable and effective implementation of any kind," says Gavin Kelly, the association’s chief executive officer.

The RFA is also advocating the proposed point demerit system and all the costs linked to operating it. "The RFA does not see how issuing points to vehicles will change the behaviour of people, but it will definitely go a long way to destroying both the resale value of vehicles, as well as the capex value within various businesses."

Improving driving standards

"The authorities need to focus on changing driver behaviour, rather than on a system aimed at collecting revenue to support an administrative system. The RFA supports interventions which serve to improve the safety of the country’s roads and reduce incidents, injuries and fatalities. One of the key priorities of the RFA is the safety of all drivers on our roads and we have no objection in principle to a demerit system applied to South African drivers," says Kelly.

Many countries have successful driver systems with demerit points; however, these are all easy to use, fair, effective and not based on generating revenue at every point in the process. "The system must assist in improving driving standards, and thereby contribute to reducing accidents, injuries and fatalities."

"The RFA believes that AARTO could be very effective if the proposed regulations were amended to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and costs. Demerit access systems have been successfully implemented in other countries. These systems have a fair fine re-direction process and no vehicle demerit points," concludes Kelly.