Our legal team studied the latest regulations to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Amendment Act, and we are confident that it will not withstand legal scrutiny. We submitted our comments on the proposed regulations but should the Minister of Transport again not heed our advice, we are ready to tackle both AARTO and the AARTO Amendment Act in court on various legal grounds, including constitutionality. 

Over the last three years, OUTA has actively participated in all the stages of public input into the drafting of the AARTO Amendment Act. We attended workshops, presented our own workshop and attended public hearings across the country. In addition to this, we made submissions to Parliament and even wrote to the President twice. We also launched a constitutional court challenge against the AARTO Act as well as the AARTO Amendment Act. Government ignored all our input, and this resulted in an Act that will not withstand legal scrutiny. The administrative burden will also make enforcement virtually impossible, making the Act’s purpose of road safety unattainable. 

Sadly, just as is the case with the current Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) pilot project that has been partially in use in the Johannesburg and Tshwane metros for the past 10 years, the new law is more about making money than making our roads safer and saving lives. It is complicated, cumbersome and definitely not user friendly, while the complicated administrative system will force citizens to rather pay the fines instead of following due process, whether guilty or not. It could even open the door for more corruption in the form of bribes. 

It is also highly unlikely that AARTO will be implemented successfully – just think of the various problems irate motorists frequently experience at traffic departments countrywide. We fear that the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), who will administrate AARTO, won’t be able to handle the administrative pressure. 

We urge motorists countrywide to support our legal challenge, as AARTO will become the new e-tolls: ill-conceived, poorly executed and an administrative nightmare which will force motorists to break the law. Please share this message with your friends who are not already OUTA supporters. 

Click here to read more about OUTA’s concerns on AARTO.