The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says it will launch a constitutional challenge to the new implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act (AARTO).
President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed the controversial Bill into law, which includes a licence demerit system for drivers. Implementation of the Act awaits its gazetting with the date on which it comes into effect.
On Sunday the Automobile Association (AA) said it was also looking into the constitutionality of the Act, to decide if any legal action could be taken against the implementation of the Act in its current form. The AA says the act appears to be more of a revenue-making mechanism than an attempt to make the roads safer.
AA spokesperson Layton Beard says the Bill places low emphasis on the root causes of road crashes such as speaking or texting on a cellphone while driving – or not wearing a seatbelt.
The Aarto Bill with its points demerit system will come into force next year, this according to CEO of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency Japh Chuwe. He says this is a key intervention in ensuring compliance with all road traffic laws.
AARTO is currently being piloted in the Johannesburg and Tshwane metros and will be rolled over countrywide from next year.
