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WESTERN CAPE NEWS - The enforcement of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act in the Western Cape would harm taxi drivers' livelihoods and result in discrimination against black people.

This was the collective opinion of a number of people who attended the public hearing on the Aarto Amendment Bill in the Mossel Bay town hall on Tuesday, 27 February.

Many attendees were taxi drivers from Uncedo - one from as far as Plettenberg Bay. 

Hearings are being held in select towns and cities throughout South Africa.

Members of the provincial parliament Standing Committee on Transport and Public Works, which is chaired by Nceba Hinana, and staff from the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA), led by the head of the legal department of RTIA, Advocate Mncedisi Bilikwana, were at the meeting.

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The Aarto Act was promulgated by former president Nelson Mandela in 1998 and has been piloted in the cities of Tshwane and Johannesburg since 2008.

According to the Act, drivers accumulate demerits if they are caught transgressing traffic rules. 

Drunk driving results in the most demerits - six. If drivers accumulate 12 penalty points, their licences are suspended for three months. 

The demerit system was not implemented during the pilot phase in the two cities because it was deemed unfair if it were implemented in only two cities, not the whole of South Africa.

Guildford Sinoyiyo said road users needed time to look at the amendments before making submissions. "Why come to the Western Cape with the amendments when the Act has not even been implemented here, only in Johannesburg and Tshwane?" he said. Photos: Linda Sparg

Circumstances unique
It was argued at the meeting that taxi drivers' circumstances were unique. Often there are no places for taxis to stop on the roadside, as there are for buses. 

Taxis coming from the Eastern Cape, where the roads are in disrepair, into the Southern Cape, have had to go through potholes, which damage the vehicles, so the vehicles are sometimes not in a roadworthy condition. 

If a number plate falls off, which can result in one demerit point and a R500 fine, the taxi driver must drive without the number plate over the weekend. 

He cannot wait until a Monday when the number plate businesses open.

Also, it was argued that taxis provide a service to the public. If a potential passenger is waiting on the roadside in a place where the taxi is not supposed to stop, the driver cannot ignore the person and drive on.

Demerits
Taxi drivers at the meeting complained they would accumulate demerits extremely easily. 

Also, according to the Aarto Act, if a fine is paid within a stipulated period, the driver gets a 50% discount off the fine. 

A taxi driver complained that if he accumulated R5 000 in fines and got a 50% discount, R2 500 was still a large amount to have to pay.

Those who oppose the Aarto Act have said it focuses on fine payment, not on whether the driver is innocent or guilty of the offence. 

"We are innocent until found guilty," was the cry of one of the meeting attendees in Mossel Bay.

One of the attendees asked why skipping a red light would result in two demerits for a bus, taxi or truck driver, whereas for a light vehicle driver it was only one demerit. This was unfair, he said.

The RTIA's Advocate Bilikwana said there were 14 000 road traffic deaths in South Africa in a year. 

It was hoped the Aarto Act would help reduce this number. 

The Road Accident Fund was "choking" and there was not enough money to pay beneficiaries. The demerit points were non-negotiable, he said.

Although the hearing was to discuss the proposed amendments to the Aarto Act, attendees at the hearing slated the Act itself. Hinana, who is also the DA Western Cape spokesperson on Transport and Public Works, said the Act was not cast in stone and that meeting attendees had until 30 March to scrutinise it and the proposed amendments to the Act and provide their comments in writing.

Nceba Hinana

Amendments
Following findings from the pilot of the Aarto Act in Tshwane and Johannesburg metros, the Aarto Amendment Bill proposes the following main changes:

1) A rehabilitation programme for habitual traffic rule infringers, for example attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings if they drive drunk and time management courses if they are often late and tend to speed.

2) Repealing the "warrant of execution": in the current economic climate it has been deemed harsh for a sheriff of the court to confiscate moveable property from those who have not paid their traffic fines.

3) The institution of an appeals tribunal for those who are not happy with the way the RTIA has dealt with their case.

4) Instead of posting of "fines", they can be emailed, SMSed or WhatsApped. Many have not received fines in the post because of problems of the Post Office and / or they change address often and posting is not a suitable method.

Some have criticised the Aarto Act because it "removes the role of the court" , however Bilikwana pointed out that the courts were overloaded with cases and that the proposed appeals tribunal would be independent of the RTIA and deal with appeals.

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