1. PRESENTATION TO PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT
ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUDICATION OF ROAD TRAFFIC OFFENCES AMENDMENT BILL, 2015(“the Bill”) 17 MAY 2016
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2. INDEX Background Objects of the Bill
Discussion of the Objects of the Bill
Clause by clause Discussion of the Bill
Consultation
Financial Implications
Parliamentary Procedure
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3. Background
The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, 1998 (Act No. 46 of 1998) (the Act) seeks to promote road traffic quality by providing for a scheme that discourages road traffic contraventions and facilitate the efficient adjudication of road traffic infringements.
The Act has been in operation without the demerit points system, on a pilot phase in the jurisdictional areas of Tshwane and Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipalities where some challenges and inefficiencies have been identified. The said challenges need to be addressed before the national roll-out.
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4. Background (Cont.)
The Bill seeks to amend the Act in order to achieve efficiency and financial sustainability of issuing authorities as well as the Road Traffic Infringement Agency, which the Bill amends to the Road Traffic Infringement Authority (Authority).
The amendments identified in the Bill will assist the agency as well as the issuing authorities to be financially stable in order to proceed with proper implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (“AARTO”).
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5. Objects of the Amendment Bill
To amend the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act 1998 (Act No.46 of 1998)
To provide for financing of the Authority by empowering the Authority through its Board to open a bank account
To do away with the issuing of warrants by the repeal of section 21
To simplify manner of service of documents by the Introduction of electronic method of service
To provide for the Apportionment of Penalties
To provide for Transitional provision
To provide for general provisions and consequential amendments
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6. Discussion of the Objects of the Bill
Empowers the Authority through its Board to open a bank account
The principal Act authorized the DG of Transport to open bank account on behalf of the entity, the Amendment Bill proposes that the Authority through the Board to open bank accounts
This accounts would be used by the Authority to deposit monies received by it from issuing authorities, driving licence testing centers and registering authorities.
Empowers the authority to issue a thirty two days notice in the event the infringer makes insufficient payment in respect of a fine or the cheque used for payment is dishounored
The position before was that an infringer who made partial payment and did not comply with the 32 days notice would be served with a warrant, the Bill proposes the repeal of the issuing of warrants against infringers and replacement thereof with a Courtesy Letter reminding the infringer to honour his/her obligations and thereafter an Enforcement Order
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7. Discussion of the Objects of the Bill (Cont.)
Repeal of section 21
Section 21 deals with the issuing of warrants
The proposed repeal means that the consequences for the failure to comply with an enforcement order will be dealt with in terms of section 20(5) of the Act which provides that an infringer who does not comply with an enforcement order may not be issued with a driving licence, professional driving permit or licence disc, in respect of a motor vehicle registered in the name of an infringer, until such enforcement order has been complied with or has been revoked.
Introduction of electronic method of service
The principal Act only provided for personal and registered methods of service, and due to the costs associated with the service by registered mail and non compliance with the prescribed time lines set out in the AARTO processes, there is a need to include electronic methods of service of documents in addition to other methods that may be prescribed.
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8. Discussion of the Objects of the Bill (Cont.)
Apportionment of Penalties
The Bill proposes the sharing of penalties paid in instances where the infringer makes a deposit into the bank account of the Authority, in which case the Authority having deducted its share pays over the remainder to the relevant issuing authority
Transitional provision
Section 35(1) of the principal Act is amended by the substitution for the offence to infringement
Notice already issued in terms of the CPA should proceed to be finalized in terms of the CPA process
General provision and consequential amendments
Minor / major infringement is replaced with infringement
National Contraventions Register is replaced with National Traffic Offence Register
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9. Discussion of the Objects of the Bill (Cont.)
Apportionment of Penalties
The Bill proposes the sharing of penalties paid in instances where the infringer makes a deposit into the bank account of the Authority, in which case the Authority having deducted its share pays over the remainder to the relevant issuing authority
Transitional provision
Section 35(1) of the principal Act is amended by the substitution for the offence to infringement
Notice already issued in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act,1977(Act No. 51 of 1977) (CPA) should proceed to be finalized in terms of the CPA process
General provision and consequential amendments
Minor / major infringement is replaced with infringement
National Contraventions Register is replaced with National Traffic Offence Register
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10. Clause by clause Discussion
Clause 1 Amends section 1 of the Act, as follows: (a) the definition of “acceptable identification” has been qualified to also include the words clear, legible and certified copy; (b) the definition of “agency” is deleted and replaced with the definition of “Authority”. .(c) the definition of “electronic service” have been inserted to provide for electronic methods of service of documents in addition to other methods of service that may be prescribed ;
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11. Clause by clause (cont.)
(d) the definition of “infringement” is qualified to include any act or omission in contravention of the principal Act or road traffic legislation; (e) the definitions of “major infringement” and “minor infringement” are deleted as a consequential amendments to the definition of infringement; (f) the definition of “National Contraventions Register” is deleted and replaced by the definition of “National Road Traffic Offences Register” in which details of the infringements and offences of every infringer are recorded. (h) definition of “representation officer” is aligned with section 10 of the principal Act. .
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12. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Amends section 4 of the Act which provides for the objects and functions of the Authority.
Clause 2 mainly deletes subsection (2)(e) of section 4 of the Act, which deals with the issuing by the registrar, of a warrant against an infringer who has failed to comply with an enforcement order made in terms of the Act. The rest of the amendments are consequential amendments as a result of deletion of Section 4(2)(e).
The deletion of this subsection is aligned with the proposed repeal in clause 7 of the Bill, of Section 21 of the Act, which deals with the issuing of warrants by the registrar .
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13. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Amends section 13 of the Act , which provides for the financing of the Agency - renamed Authority
Inserts paragraph (dA) in subsection 1 of the provision that deals with penalties issued and collected on behalf of the Issuing Authorities
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14. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Amends section 15 of the Act, which provides for the banking account of the Authority.
Provides that the Authority may open and maintain one or more bank accounts with the approval of the Board of the Authority
The account(s) must be used to deposit monies received by the Authority from issuing authorities, driving licence testing centres and registering authorities.
Furthermore replaces the words “agency” with “Authority” and “Director General” with “Board”.
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15. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Amends section 19B of the Act, by deleting subsections (1)(b) and (2)(c) of section 19B of the Act.
The deletion of these subsections is aligned with the proposed repeal in clause 7 of the Bill, of section 21 of the Act, which deals with the issuing of warrants by the Registrar.
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16. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Amends section 20 of the Act by deleting subsection 3(b) thereof.
Section 20 of the Act provides for enforcement orders issued by the registrar in respect of failure to pay fines imposed for traffic infringements.
Section 20(3)(b) stipulates that the enforcement order must state that a failure to comply with the requirements of the enforcement order not later than 32 days after the date of service of the order will result in a warrant being issued to recover the applicable penalty and fees.
The deletion of this paragraph is in line with the repeal in clause 7 of the Bill, of section 21 of the Act , which deals with the issuing of warrants by the Registrar.
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17. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Repeals section 21 of the Act , which provides for warrants.
The proposed repeal means that the consequences for the failure to comply with an enforcement order will be dealt with in terms of section 20(5) of the Act which provides that an infringer who does not comply with an enforcement order may not be issued with a driving licence, professional driving permit or licence disc, in respect of a motor vehicle registered in the name of an infringer, until such enforcement order has been complied with or has been revoked.
In respect of infringer notices, section 19(2)(c) of the Act provides that if an infringer fails to comply with an infringement notice, the Authority must issue a courtesy letter and serve it to infringer,stating that a failure to comply with the requirements of the courtesy letter within the time permitted, will result in the registrar issuing an enforcement order in terms of section 20 of the Act. .
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18. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Amends section 22 of the Act, which provides for the procedure in respect of a trial for an infringer who does not pay a fine but elects to be tried in court.
Clause 8 seeks to delete subsections (1)(b) of section 22 of the Act, which provides that if the execution of a warrant in terms of section 21(1) produces no movable property to seize and sell or the infringer otherwise fails to comply with the enforcement order after execution of the warrant, the Authority must inform the issuing authority who must cancel the infringer notice. This deletion corresponds to the proposed repeal in clause 7 of the Bill, of section 21 of the Act, which deals with the issuing of warrants by the registrar. .
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19. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Amends section 30 of the Act which provides for service of documents on an infringer personally or by registered mail.
The proposed amendment provides for service of documents by means of postage and electronic service. The amendment also provides that a document which is deemed to have been served on the infringer on the tenth day of postage or of the electronic service, and such electronic service being reflected in the National Offences Register, unless evidence to the contrary is adduced, which evidence may be in the form of an affidavit. .
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20. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Substitutes the whole of section 32 of the Act which provides for the apportionment of penalties.
The new substitution provides for the apportionment and distribution of penalties received by the Authority to the relevant issuing authorities, after deduction of an amount equal to the prescribed discount . Penalties collected by or on behalf of an issuing authority in terms of the Act must be paid to the Authority.
In addition, the Authority may withhold a penalty due to the issuing authority if there is evidence of non-compliance with the Act by that issuing authority, until such time the issuing authority complies with the Act. .
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21. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Amends section 35 of the Bill which deals with transitional provisions.
Provides that a notice issued in terms of section 56 or 341 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No.51 of 1977), before the date of commencement of section 17,may be continued and finalized under the Criminal Procedure Act, but the said notice may not be issued after that commencement date of an infringement issued in terms of Section 17 of the Act.
It must be noted that currently the only dates for commencement of section 17 are 1 July 2008 in respect of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality and 1 November 2008 in respect of City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality . This is in line with section 36(2) of the Act , which provides that different dates may be determined in respect of different provisions of the Act and different areas of the Republic. .
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22. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Provides for the substitution of certain expressions . In effect the name “Road Traffic Infringement Agency” is replaced with “Road Traffic Infringement Authority” . The expressions “major infringement” and “minor infringement” must be replaced with “infringement” throughout the Act.
The expression “national contraventions register” is replaced with “National Road Traffic Offences Register”.
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23. Clause by clause (Cont.)
Provides for the short title and commencement.
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24. Departments and bodies consulted
The Bill was published in Government Gazette No dated 28 June 2013
A wide range of stakeholders were consulted in the preparation for the Bill , including amongst others the following:
-South African Police Service
-National Prosecuting Authority(NPA)
-Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
-The Road Traffic Management Corporation;
-Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department;
-Tshwane Metropolitan Police Department;
-Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department;
-Provincial Departments of Transport;
-Justice Project South Africa;
-South African Local Government Agency(SALGA)
-South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association;
-Business, Labour and Community Organizations under NEDLAC;
-Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster.(DG ‘s)
-Cabinet
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25. Financial Implications
The Bill is expected to have the following financial implications:
The revenue of the issuing authorities and the Agency will be increased due to the provision of electronic methods of service, which will drastically reduce the cost of registered mail as is currently the case. This will further increase the support of AARTO by issuing authorities who have been concerned with the high costs of the legal requirement of serving Notices with Registered mail.
Large fleet operators will benefit from the efficient service as the drastically reduced costs of submitting nominations will be electronic and thereby introducing efficiencies in their business operations.
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26. Parliamentary Procedure
The Department and State Law Advisors are of the opinion that this Bill must be tagged as section 76 of the Constitution since it falls within a functional area listed in Schedule 4 to the Constitution, which is “ road traffic regulation”.
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27. THANK YOU
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