Articles

Stronger sanctions for road users

Business Law & Tax Review February 2009
By Natasha Ferreira

The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act of 1996 provides for a new road traffic offences system to be implemented in SA. The act is expected to come into operation throughout SA during the course of this year.

At present, all traffic contraventions are administered and adjudicated through the Criminal Procedure Act of 1997.

However, due to the large quantity of traffic contraventions committed on our roads and consequently flowing through our criminal court system, our courts are overloaded with traffic offences that hamper their ability to either deal with other criminal offences effectively or to deal with each and every traffic contravention effectively.

The purpose of the new traffic law is to promote road-traffic quality by providing a scheme that discourages road-traffic contraventions, facilitates the adjudication of road traffic infringements, supports the prosecution of offences committed under the act and implements a point demerit system.

The point demerit system will apply to owners, drivers and operators of motor vehicles, and will work as follows:

• The act distinguishes between minor infringements, major infringements and offences, and points will be allocated according to the type and severity of the infringement or offence. The prescribed number of points to be allocated to various infringements and offences still needs to be finalised;

• Each driver or operator (infringer) will start with zero points on commencement of the act;

• Operators will receive points separately from their drivers. For example, when a driver of a transport company commits an infringement, points will be allocated to the operator's permit and to the driver's licence;

• The infringer may accumulate a maximum number of 12 points. All points accumulated over and above this 12-point maximum will result in the infringing driver's licence being suspended and cancelled on the third suspension. The maximum number of points an operator may accumulate is still subject to discussion;

• The length of a suspension will depend on the number of points the infringer has accumulated exceeding 12 points. For every point accumulated above 12 points a suspension period of three months is applied. If an infringer has accumulated 12 points and thereafter commits an infringement or offence with a prescribed penalty of two demerit points, the infringer's licence will be suspended for six months;

• Once an infringer's licence has been suspended for the third time, the infringer's licence will be cancelled, and after termination of the suspension period the infringer will have to re-apply for the driving or operating licence;

• Demerit points will be reduced at a flat rate of one point every three months;

• Demerit points will be incurred either on the date on which the penalty payable for the infringement is paid, when the infringer has made arrangements to pay the penalty off in instalments, or alternatively when the infringer has been convicted of the offence.

On being suspected of committing an infringement the person who has allegedly committed the infringement will be served with an infringement notice.

The infringer will then have the following options available:

• The infringer may pay the penalty within 32 days after the notice is served on him or her, in which event the infringer will pay a discounted amount, which at present is 50% of the penalty;

• The infringer may make representations to the Road Traffic Infringement Agency, the body that will be managing the new system. Representations can only be made for minor infringements and are to be made by way of a sworn statement or affirmation indicating the existence of reasonable grounds as to why the infringer should not be held liable for the infringement;

• The infringer may elect to be tried in court on a charge of having committed an alleged offence; or

• If the infringer is the owner of the vehicle but was not the driver at the time of the commission of the alleged infringement or offence he may nominate the driver by providing the relevant issuing authority with information showing that he or she was not the driver of the vehicle and providing the name, acceptable identification and residential and postal address of the alleged driver or person in control of the vehicle.

The new law also provides that if an operator or owner of a motor vehicle allows a person to drive and exercise control over the motor vehicle without obtaining the above information, the owner and operator is guilty of an offence and will be liable, on conviction, to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding 12 months, or both.

If the infringer fails to respond to the infringement notice in one of the manners set out above, a courtesy letter will be issued and served on the infringer, who will then have a further period of 32 days to either:

• Make representations to the agency in respect of a minor infringement;

• Pay the penalty and the prescribed fee for the courtesy letter; or

• Elect to be tried in court.

If the infringer fails to respond to the courtesy letter the registrar of the agency will serve an enforcement order on the infringer. At the same time, the demerit points in respect of the infringement will be allocated and recorded on the National Contraventions Register, a national traffic information system recording the offence details of every individual under the act.

The enforcement order will give the infringer 32 days to pay the penalty and the prescribed fees for the courtesy letter, representation (if applicable) and the enforcement order.

If the enforcement order is not complied with, a warrant will be issued against the infringer to (a) seize and sell the infringer's movable property to satisfy the penalty and fees due; (b) seize the infringer's licence; and (c) remove the licence disc of all vehicles owned by the infringer.

The infringer can also be reported to the credit bureau.

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