The latest round of calls and actions by two transport MECs has dramatically highlighted the total lack of consistency in road traffic enforcement and road safety policies in South Africa.
On Friday June 6 2014, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Mr Willies Mchunu was reported as saying that he is engaging with Transport Minister, Dipuo Peters to send traffic offenders to jail. His rationale is reportedly that “They commit an offence, you fine them and they pay. They commit another offence, you fine them and they pay. Now we have to make it painful for them.”
This comes in spite of the fact that the eThekwini (Durban) Metropolitan Police Department has recently started registering criminal records against the names of people who are issued with a summons and pay an admission of guilt fine – which is a provision contained in Section 57 of the apartheid-era Criminal Procedure Act, 51 of 1977 and there are few things more “painful” than a criminal record.
Hot on the heels of KZN, the Transport MEC for the Western Cape, Mr Donald Grant has announced that traffic fines in that province will be tripled with effect from 1 August 2014; stating that “death due to reckless driving had to come to an end on provincial roads” in an article which appeared in The Argus of 11 June.
In the same article, Western Cape Traffic Chief, Kenny Africa stated that 33 percent of traffic fines are collected; thereby giving a far better indication of why it is that the Western Cape has decided to triple its fine penalty amounts. The Western Cape does not however impose criminal records on those who pay admission of guilt fines on summonses.
The AARTO Act, for all of its ills of poor drafting and improper implementation; decriminalises most road traffic infringements and seeks to rather address the significant problems we have on South Africa’s roads by implementing a points-demerit system. It is a NATIONAL LAW that was enacted in 1998 and to date has only been implemented – minus the points-demerit system – in two jurisdictions – those of the Johannesburg and Tshwane Metropolitan Police Departments. This year, the AARTO Act will be 16 years old and it is still no closer to being rectified and rolled out nationally.
Inconsistencies in traffic law enforcement, the penalties associated therewith and the various provincial and local policies that exist to preside over a national problem are most certainly contributing to the carnage on our roads – as opposed to combatting it. South Africa desperately needs a national policy with legislated penalties and interventions; including remedial programmes; if we are to stand any chance whatsoever of tackling the real problems at hand and reducing road carnage – and the AARTO Act is capable of providing exactly that.
Confusing people by implementing different policies and penalties in different provinces which tend to like to believe that South Africa is a Federation of independent States, rather than one country is completely irrational, nonsensical and bizarre, not to mention unconstitutional. It is long past time that the National Department of Transport stood up and took ownership of the problem and stops allowing provinces and local municipalities to call the tune, profiteer out of road traffic offences and introduce draconian measures at will. If it doesn’t, nothing is going to change, except possibly that the situation will continue to worsen and people will continue to die and be injured at an alarming rate.
Howard Dembovsky
National Chairman – Justice Project South Africa (NPC)