Possible delays for demerit system

Johannesburg, 28 Aug 2009

The driver's licence points demerit system will not be implemented until the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto) has been successfully rolled out throughout the country, says the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).

The RTMC previously announced that concerns about the Aarto point demerit system had been addressed and that the system would be implemented throughout the country in 2010.

However, in a statement, the RTMC now says the concerns are wide-ranging and will take time to address. While it maintains it will meet its 2010 deadline, it says implementation will only go ahead once all concerns are addressed.

“From a road safety perspective, it is important that Aarto be rolled out as soon as possible and hence it is a policy objective to complete the implementation of Aarto countrywide during 2010. However, a number of challenges have been identified, which are being addressed with a view to commence with the national roll-out during 2010, only once these challenges have been resolved,” explains the RTMC.

The corporation says it has been “vigilant in the implementation of the pilot” and has drawn up “intervention measures”, which will urgently address the challenges identified during the pilots. The pilot was first put into practice in Tshwane in July 2008 and rolled out in Johannesburg in February 2009.

“The corporation is currently reviewing the pilots and I am confident that solutions will be found to timely address these challenges to ensure the smooth and efficient roll-out of Aarto in 2010.

“The RTMC has been aware of the challenges experienced and is busy putting in place the necessary interventions to address and sort out these challenges,” the statement reads.

It says it is confident of the corporation's strategy and capability to deploy the necessary interventions required “to achieve critical success in the implementation and further roll-out countrywide”.

Electronic blips

In July, the Aarto Web site was hijacked in protest by the Justice Project SA. Anyone trying to log onto the Aarto Web site was redirected to GreedFines.co.za. At the time, the traffic body said it had resolved issues raised by the rights group.

The corporation notes there are still certain concerns and problem areas in the administrative section of the Aarto system, which must receive urgent attention.

According to the RTMC, eNatis transactions would not be loaded manually. The RTMC says it has developed a system, which will scan applications and notices, automatically direct them to the relevant department for processing, and track and report information to management. This system will automatically update eNatis without the need for manual updates.

The RTMC adds that, while eNatis registers contraventions and demerit points of offenders, summonses to appear in court must be performed by the issuing authorities. The authorities have their own local contravention management system, which must still be interfaced with eNatis and comply with standards to receive electronic data.

“The current situation with respect to the implementation of the Aarto, in Johannesburg, is that the operational processes are being done on the city's local system and currently not yet interfaced with eNatis. This situation is only applicable during the pilot and once all the aspects have been addressed, all Aarto processes will be directly captured on eNatis, in order to provide a single national database of all infringements in preparation for the national roll-out,” says the RTMC.