The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) is now ready to roll-out the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act 46 of 1998 (AARTO) Act and the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act 4 of 2019, after the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) confirmed the legality and validity of the two Acts on 12 July 2013.
The ruling effectively gave the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) the mandate to continue with the implementation of the AARTO Act. “All uncertainties about the AARTO Act and its Amendment Act of 2019 have finally been settled, after it was challenged and declared unconstitutional by the North Gauteng High Court in January 2022. We can now confidently proceed with its implementation to enhance the safety of our road users,” says Matsemela Moloi, CEO and registrar of the RTIA.
“We are pleased with the final decision made by the apex court in the land. As the RTIA, we will revisit and review existing plans and make the necessary adjustments in implementation timelines, and prepare for the phased national roll-out. We have always believed that South Africa needed a piece of legislation that would effectively enforce compliance with all road traffic regulations whilst also enhancing the safety of road users in general, and the AARTO Act will achieve exactly that,” says Moloi.
The RTIA will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to ensure that they have a thorough understanding of how the AARTO Act and its Amendment will work. The RTIA will also continue educating road users about the benefits of AARTO, and the implications for those who do not comply.
The AARTO Act and its Amendment remove the burden of adjudicating road traffic offences from the courts and place it within one central agency. In addition, the AARTO Act and its Amendment will also create a Points Demerit System.
“We have too many road crashes in South Africa, costing the economy billions of rands annually. This piece of legislation will enable us to protect law-abiding road users from serial and dangerous offenders,” says Moloi.