This follows on a statement last year by the Road Traffic Managment Corporation’s (RTMC) CEO, Makhosini Msibi, that offences such as failing to wear a seatbelt and driving without a license or expired vehicle license disc could get motorists arrested.
According to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto), motorists can only be arrested for contravening two of the road traffic laws. I if they were caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or had exceeded the speed limit by 40km/h or more.
RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane cleared up the confusion and said the statement was an attempt to get motorists paying attention to the rules of the road in order to reduce festive season road carnage.
He said the corporation was pushing for harsher measures.
“Amending the law is a very long process but the RTMC has been engaging with the justice ministry to at least have a mandatory two-year sentence for road traffic offenders.”
Fines for traffic offences range from R250 for not wearing a seatbelt to R1 500 for overloading.
