Ryan
21-07-2009, 09:15 PM
De-merit system up and running
2009-07-20 22:11
Johannesburg - The de-merit system is up and running in Tshwane and Johannesburg but points had not yet been allocated to motorists, the Automobile Association of SA said on Monday.
Gary Ronald, head of Public Affairs said glitches were bound to happen in the de-merit system, otherwise referred to as the Administrative Adjudication Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system.
"It has not yet been decided now many points you will initially start off with, but it is envisaged that each driver will start with 12 points on a three year cycle," he explained.
"Offenders will be able to earn back lost points with one point being gained for each three months that no offence is committed."
He assured motorists that although a recent spate of spam mail saw consumers fearing for exorbitant fines or losing their driving licences, the system was successful and good for the country to reduce road accidents.
"The de-merit system has been successfully implemented in many countries across the world where it has been an excellent deterrent to errant motorist behaviour on the roads," said Ronald.
Spam mail
The new Aarto system was expected to be implemented nationwide in November next year.
According to the recent spam mail sent out, there was no grace for speeding. However, Ronald said in terms of the prosecuting guidelines there was still a technical requirement to give motorists "10% grace" because certain cars did not have "completely accurate" speedometers.
"Motorists need to be aware that the new fine structure is stringent, and fines are very high, especially for speeding.
"More serious offences such as drunk driving will see offenders being sent directly to jail and the process will then fall into judicial hands."
Ronald emphasised that there would be compulsory sentencing for such an offence which would result in the suspension or loss of a driving licence.
2009-07-20 22:11
Johannesburg - The de-merit system is up and running in Tshwane and Johannesburg but points had not yet been allocated to motorists, the Automobile Association of SA said on Monday.
Gary Ronald, head of Public Affairs said glitches were bound to happen in the de-merit system, otherwise referred to as the Administrative Adjudication Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system.
"It has not yet been decided now many points you will initially start off with, but it is envisaged that each driver will start with 12 points on a three year cycle," he explained.
"Offenders will be able to earn back lost points with one point being gained for each three months that no offence is committed."
He assured motorists that although a recent spate of spam mail saw consumers fearing for exorbitant fines or losing their driving licences, the system was successful and good for the country to reduce road accidents.
"The de-merit system has been successfully implemented in many countries across the world where it has been an excellent deterrent to errant motorist behaviour on the roads," said Ronald.
Spam mail
The new Aarto system was expected to be implemented nationwide in November next year.
According to the recent spam mail sent out, there was no grace for speeding. However, Ronald said in terms of the prosecuting guidelines there was still a technical requirement to give motorists "10% grace" because certain cars did not have "completely accurate" speedometers.
"Motorists need to be aware that the new fine structure is stringent, and fines are very high, especially for speeding.
"More serious offences such as drunk driving will see offenders being sent directly to jail and the process will then fall into judicial hands."
Ronald emphasised that there would be compulsory sentencing for such an offence which would result in the suspension or loss of a driving licence.