The long-debated Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Phase 2 rollout is officially underway. Despite a last-minute legal challenge about whether financially strained municipalities can even afford the infrastructure, the system is moving ahead.
Where do you stand on the demerit system?
It’s about time
Good idea, bad execution
Just another revenue trap
I’m dreading the adminI’m not sure whether this is related to the new AARTO rollout, but on 29 June, I received a fine for R200 for travelling at 71km per hour. It says I exceeded the speed limit (but the notice didn’t say what the speed limit was or where they caught me).
But it gave the time of the alleged infraction, which is when I am always on a road with a speed limit of 70km/hour. So they issued me with a fine for being 1km/hour over the speed limit. Firstly, I thought there was a slight leeway/tolerance amounting for 10% over the speed limit. This would suggest that there would be a tolerance of about 7km before I should be issued a fine.
I feel a ethical need to dispute this fine, but to go to court for R200 seems like a huge effort. So I want to know if other people have had similar experiences, of being issued fines for being 1km/hour over the speed limit and whether this is an easy way for municipality to collect money off of us, because the trouble to dispute is too much effort.
But more worryingly, will this now start to count towards demerit points? On a road and at a speed where I feel I should not even have been fined in the first place?
Apparently there are many scams about. We received a similar ‘fine’ demand several months ago but as it was not specific we ignored it. Result - have heard nothing further.