The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) is set to use all the technology at its disposal to ensure traffic infringements under the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act are successfully delivered to motorists who breach the law.
This comes amid yet another legal challenge to the rollout, with the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) seeking to stop phase two being rolled out because key safeguards, such as the independent Appeals Tribunal, to protect motorists have yet to be introduced.
The almost three-decade-old law, which will ultimately result in points being deducted from drivers’ licences to enforce compliance with the rules of the road, entered phase two this month, expanding it to 62 municipalities.
RTIA will then move to phase three, adding another 151 municipalities, before the demerit points system kicks in nationally, expected in 2027.
RTIA spokesperson Monde Mkalipi tells ITWeb the phased approach is intended to familiarise motorists with the administrative adjudication process before the demerit system is activated, with habitual traffic offenders ultimately the primary target of the legislation.
Mkalipi notes the rollout has required significant technology upgrades behind the scenes to support the administrative processes underpinning AARTO.
The technology upgrades include integrating municipalities with the national Electronic National Administration Traffic Information System, connectivity with the South African Post Office (SAPO) and equipping AARTO service outlets across the country, he says.
Proof required
RTIA has also invested in digital notification capabilities beyond traditional registered mail, says Mkalipi. RTIA can now send infringement notices by e-mail, SMS and WhatsApp, while technology allows officials to track whether e-mails have been successfully delivered and opened, helping to confirm that notifications have reached motorists.
“We’re no longer relying only on registered mail… We can tell whether the e-mail has been delivered and whether it has been opened,” says Mkalipi.
Mkalipi says once RTIA can show a notice was delivered, whether by registered mail collected at a post office, or an e-mail that landed in an inbox, a motorist’s representation claiming they never received it will fail. Whether the motorist opened it or not is beside the point, he says; delivery, not reading, is what discharges RTIA’s obligation.
SAPO has been appointed to support the rollout by delivering infringement notices through its e-Reg platform, using WhatsApp, SMS, MMS and e-mail to provide legally recognised electronic delivery.
Its appointment follows a failed court bid by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) to halt phase two, in which SALGA argued municipalities were not ready and the funding model was unresolved; the Pretoria High Court struck that application from the roll, allowing the rollout, and SAPO’s role in it, to proceed.
Central record
The rollout has also included the establishment of the National Contravention Register, a central database that tracks an infringement from the day it’s committed through capture, posting and notification, says Mkalipi.
This, he notes, supports the administrative processes required under AARTO, including representations, enforcement and, ultimately, the demerit system.
Motorists get what Mkalipi calls a “bouquet of rights” before enforcement action is taken. These include paying within 32 days at a 50% discount, submitting a representation with supporting evidence, or applying to pay in instalments, he explains.
Representation officers adjudicate disputes between the issuing authority and the motorist, and may cancel an infringement where the evidence warrants it, says Mkalipi.
Mkalipi says if motorists miss the 32-day window and the discount falls away, RTIA then issues a courtesy letter. If there’s still no response within a further period, an enforcement order follows, blocking the renewal of a licence disc, driver’s licence or professional driving permit.
Once the demerit system is active, drivers accumulate points for infringements but aren’t disqualified from being licensed to drive, says Mkalipi. A demerit point falls away for every three-month period of clean driving, he explains.
If motorists exceed 15 points, their licence will be suspended. Repeat offenders who cross that threshold multiple times are referred to a driver rehabilitation programme, says Mkalipi.
Let the process run
OUTA, which is in the latest of six years of scrutinising AARTO, has approached the courts to halt rollout because the tribunal is not yet up and running.
Advocate Stefanie Fick, OUTA’s executive director for accountability, says: “Government has switched on enforcement before switching on one of the most important protections available to motorists.”
Mkalipi says RTIA will let the legal process play out and make its case in court. On the tribunal itself, he says appointments have been made and it will be in place “at the right time,” which will definitely be before the demerit system goes live.
It’s not the first time OUTA has taken AARTO to court. In 2022, the Gauteng High Court declared the legislation unconstitutional after an OUTA challenge, finding it unlawfully encroached on provincial and local government powers.
The Constitutional Court overturned that ruling in 2023, confirming Parliament had the authority to enact the legislation and clearing the way for the rollout now under way.
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