Two weeks ago President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the controversial Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Bill into law. In general, the Bill will result in the setting up of a demerit system for drivers, who lose points for traffic offences, which may ultimately result in the loss of a driving licence.

Whilst government was determined to win the battle against disobedient motorists and persistent road fatalities with the implementation of the Bill, it has received lots of criticism in the media from various bodies and institutions:

•  The Automobile Association (AA) warned that the system in its current form – if implemented – will not in any way reshape the country’s roads to become safer – one of the original benefits. “Instead, this system seems to have morphed into a better way for revenue collection by authorities, with no regard for safety or proper application of laws. The implementation of Aarto should be prioritised but weighed against a review of its original objectives,” the AA said.
• The civil rights group, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), has opposed this bill from the start and is now planning a constitutional challenge to it, according to Rudie Heyneke, Outa portfolio manager on transport. He mentioned to the media that the pilot projects in Tshwane and Johannesburg using this system over the past decade failed. “The focus should be on road safety, not on an administratively complicated system aimed at collecting revenue,” said Heyneke.

There is also a huge question on the impact of Aarto on insurance. The demerit system could potentially be linked to underwriting criteria as it does reflect driving behaviour. Depending on how well and efficiently the bill is rolled out, this new law could see good drivers benefit from better premiums with the bad drivers being penalised.

Old Mutual’s Insure insurance expert, Christelle Colman, mentioned in a BusinessTech article that the demerit system will have a direct impact on car insurance. “The demerit system could potentially be linked to an underwriting criterion as it does reflect driving behaviour, she said. “Drivers with poor record on this system could face higher premiums – but that would be at the discretion of each company.”

Cape Talk aslo chatted to Wynand van Vuuren, Head of Legal at King Price Insurance, about the impact on a client’s insurance premium. Wynand touches on the history of underwriting and shares that it has changed to a more refined action in the last 10 years to calculate the risk.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

I suppose there are pros and cons to the implementation of the Bill – the success or failure lies more in how government will implement it – will it create chaos or order?

Click here download the Aarto Bill.

Two weeks ago President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the controversial Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Bill into law. In general, the Bill will result in the setting up of a demerit system for drivers, who lose points for traffic offences, which may ultimately result in the loss of a driving licence.

Whilst government was determined to win the battle against disobedient motorists and persistent road fatalities with the implementation of the Bill, it has received lots of criticism in the media from various bodies and institutions:

•  The Automobile Association (AA) warned that the system in its current form – if implemented – will not in any way reshape the country’s roads to become safer – one of the original benefits. “Instead, this system seems to have morphed into a better way for revenue collection by authorities, with no regard for safety or proper application of laws. The implementation of Aarto should be prioritised but weighed against a review of its original objectives,” the AA said.
• The civil rights group, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), has opposed this bill from the start and is now planning a constitutional challenge to it, according to Rudie Heyneke, Outa portfolio manager on transport. He mentioned to the media that the pilot projects in Tshwane and Johannesburg using this system over the past decade failed. “The focus should be on road safety, not on an administratively complicated system aimed at collecting revenue,” said Heyneke.

There is also a huge question on the impact of Aarto on insurance. The demerit system could potentially be linked to underwriting criteria as it does reflect driving behaviour. Depending on how well and efficiently the bill is rolled out, this new law could see good drivers benefit from better premiums with the bad drivers being penalised.

Old Mutual’s Insure insurance expert, Christelle Colman, mentioned in a BusinessTech article that the demerit system will have a direct impact on car insurance. “The demerit system could potentially be linked to an underwriting criterion as it does reflect driving behaviour, she said. “Drivers with poor record on this system could face higher premiums – but that would be at the discretion of each company.”

Cape Talk aslo chatted to Wynand van Vuuren, Head of Legal at King Price Insurance, about the impact on a client’s insurance premium. Wynand touches on the history of underwriting and shares that it has changed to a more refined action in the last 10 years to calculate the risk.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

I suppose there are pros and cons to the implementation of the Bill – the success or failure lies more in how government will implement it – will it create chaos or order?

Click here download the Aarto Bill.