Aarto on, off

2010-06-18 16:25

Johannesburg - The Aarto demerit points system may start in April - or not, enquiries revealed on Friday.

The Aartosa.co.za website states: "The demerit points system will not be in place during the pilot phases in Tshwane and Johannesburg. No demerit points will be allocated to infringers."

Upon enquiry, a Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) official, who did not want to be named, said the pilot phases were finished, but that this did not mean the demerit points system was in place.

"The pilot phases are actually complete... but the demerit points system is not really working yet," he said. "We are still busy testing the system."

Currently, motorists receiving traffic fines see demerit points against their names on the fine, but the points system has not been put into action yet.

Pilot phase

"We won't implement it until Aarto has been implemented countrywide," said the official.

Asked when the demerit point system would kick in, he replied: "We have a tentative date of April 1."

"That will only be April 1, if Aarto is in place countrywide by then," he added, however.

Aarto's pilot phase started in Tshwane in July 2008.

Aarto, the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, is traffic legislation based on penalising drivers with demerit points for traffic offences.

Once a driver has 12 demerit points, his or her driver's licence gets suspended for three months. A driver's licence gets cancelled on the third suspension.

Aarto offers motorists issued with fines several options.

Motorists can pay within 32 days and get a 50% discount, or provide proof they were not the driver at the time of the offence, or make an affidavit to appeal the penalty, or apply to pay the fine off in instalments, or choose to challenge the infringement in court.

- SAPA