KZN’s Transport Department will effect a traffic demerit system on April 1.
|||The KZN Transport Department and eThekwini’s metro police say their officers are ready to implement the Administrative Adjudication of the Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system.
This comes after the national Traffic Department told municipalities and provincial traffic departments last week that they should be prepared for the national roll-out of the system by April 1.
The Aarto system involves the introduction of a demerit system in which motorists start off with 12 points and have points deducted for committing traffic offences.
The result could eventually be the loss of licences. The system was implemented as pilot projects in both Tshwane and Joburg in 2008.
These pilot programmes follow all the processes required by the Aarto act. However, during this stage motorists accrue points for offences, but the points will be removed once the system is implemented nationally.
KwaZulu-Natal Transport Department spokesman Kwanele Ncalane said the province was battling with the issue of tightening legislation for road offences and, therefore, welcomed the new system.
He said the public needed to realise that the act was because of the number of accidents on the roads, and the general disregard for road safety.
Ncalane did not think that the new system would be difficult to implement and was confident that training and development would ensure the smooth running of the operation.
Metro police spokesman Eugene Msomi confirmed that the department had received the notice. Msomi said that officers were geared up for the roll-out and had received training on the Aarto act.
Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesman Ashref Ismail confirmed that notices had been sent to traffic departments and municipalities to be prepared to implement the system by April 1.
“We have asked that all relevant departments be prepared for national roll-out by April 1. After that, the date for the system to go live nationally will be announced by Transport Minister S’bu Ndebele,” he said.
Ismail said all provinces except North-West had indicated readiness for the system at the last Aarto national meeting in November.
He said that legislation had been amended as a result of the problems identified during the pilot phases. Ndebele would hold a summit to discuss the implementation of the Aarto act next month or in March.
Ismail said: “This system has been in the (planning) for the past five years or so; we cannot now be held to ransom by one or two municipalities… People are dying on the country’s roads, and we are confident that this system will reduce the high number of deaths.” - The Mercury