Following the signing of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Amendment Bill into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on August 13th, everyone is now awaiting the implementation of the legislation.
According to transport legal boffin Alta Swanepoel of Alta Swanepoel & Associates, the next steps will be to publish a proclamation with the implementation date of the amendment Act and the date AARTO will become effective in the other areas in South Africa. It is already in force in Tshwane and Johannesburg and; to publish the set of regulations that addresses the new and amended provisions covered in the Amendment Act, such as the appeals tribunal, electronic service, rehabilitation programmes, etc.
While the Bill is shrouded in controversy, the point is that it has been signed into law. So how will it all work? What are the infringements and the penalties? What will it mean for companies, for individual truck drivers?
All these questions – plus a whole lot more – will be answered in a series of workshops being held around the country by Alta Swanepoel & Associates in October.
The Road Traffic Infringement Authority (RTIA) indicated that the Regulations, in terms of the AARTO Act, as it is amended by Act 4 of 2019, will be published by the end of September 2019. It is thus that, to ensure the latest information is available, the workshops are being scheduled from the middle October 2019 onwards. The dates and venues are:
- 15 October 2019 – Stellenbosch (Protea Hotel, Techno Park)
- 16 October 2019 – Port Elizabeth (Protea Hotel, Marine)
- 17 October 2019 – Durban (Protea Hotel, Edward)
- 22 October 2019 – Pretoria (Protea Hotel, Centurion)
- 24 October 2019 – Bloemfontein (Protea Hotel, Willowlake)
The cost is R2 500 (VAT inclusive) per delegate and the price includes a copy of the latest version of the AARTO Act and Regulations, selected AARTO forms, notes on the AARTO system and the demerit point system, refreshments and lunch. The sessions will be from 8:00 to 13:00.
Should you wish to attend, you can contact Alta Swanepoel & Associates on 012-332 2186 or email altaswanepoel@mweb.co.za. for a registration form. Alternatively, you can download the PDF registration form from this link: https://altaswanepoel.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/AARTO-Workshop-Registration-form.pdf
“We’re also looking at holding workshops in Polokwane, Mbombela, Mahikeng and Upington. If we have sufficient interest, we will conduct workshops in these areas and we urge people to please let us know so we can schedule,” says Swanepoel.
