Once SA’s new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act is fully implemented, it is estimated that between 15 and 20 million fines a year will be issued countrywide.
The system will introduce a licence points demerit system geared towards imposing stricter penalties for road rule infringements.
So says Justin Manson, sales director at Webfleet Solutions, who adds that the AARTO Act could prove detrimental to local drivers, fleet operators, and businesses alike, even if similar systems have been successful in other countries.
The most dangerous country
“This is because South Africa was ranked by Zutobi as the world's most dangerous country to drive in due to number of deaths on the road, maximum speed limits and the number of people who don’t wear a seat-belt,” he explains.
According to him, with this ranking and the newly proposed driving laws, industries across the country will need to reevaluate their employees’ driving behaviour.
The Zutobi study ranks 56 countries, and found that only 31% of SA’s front-seat occupants wear seatbelts. In addition, the International Transport Forum’s Road Safety Annual Report 2020 reveals that although SA experienced a 77% decrease in traffic during the lockdown, there was still an increase in average speeds and the severity of crashes.
The report highlights reckless and distracted driving behaviour with distractions usually involving the use of cell phones, grooming, or eating, which endangers other road users.
“Fleet operators and drivers need to monitor driving behaviour and ensure drivers have access to adequate training programmes and tools that can provide feedback on the road,” says Mason.
A mixture of AI and telematics can improve driver behaviour, he says. For decades, telematics has enabled fleet operators to monitor their vehicles on the road, allowing them to see whether a driver is braking too hard or speeding.
“Combining the capabilities of telematics with vehicle camera footage, offers fleet managers context of why these events occur. The integrated solution gives fleet managers and decision makers full transparency and clarity, allowing them to protect their drivers from non-fault claims and coach them to drive more safely.”
Driver-facing cameras, using AI, also help improve driving by detecting unsafe behaviours and alerting the driver to correct their course before an accident happens.
Solutions that combine telematics and AI have become critical for fleet managers and drivers, helping them pre-empt risks, reduce costs, and improve driving behaviour in preparation for the new AARTO system, Manson ends.
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