Aarto roll-out now set for 2011

Johannesburg - The new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system will be rolled out in 2011, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said on Tuesday.

"We are rolling it out next year, we are sure it's going to happen in the next calendar year," said RTMC acting chief executive Collins Letsoalo.

An announcement on when the demerit system would kick in would be made next year as Aarto rolled out.

The RTMC began an "education campaign" on October 1 at the OR Tambo International Airport, he said.

The Aarto legislation would implement a point demerit system in which motorists would be penalised or lose their driver's licences after a certain number of traffic offences.

Aarto pilot projects had been running in Johannesburg and Tshwane.

Letsoalo said system problems and gaps in the legislative process were identified during the pilot projects.

"But in the main it has gone well, we are perfecting that as we go forward," he said.

In June the RTMC announced that the implementation of the Aarto system would be delayed to ensure the legislation was effective when it was implemented.

Problems with communication and educating the public on their rights, duties and obligations had also been identified during the pilot implementation of the legislation in Tshwane and Johannesburg.

Other issues of concern were training people to use the system and effective performance of the system when uploading infringement information.

Aarto was to have been introduced in Ekurhuleni, Ethekwini, Nelson Mandela Bay and the City of Cape Town on July 1.

At the time, the corporation said the delay would be around two or three months.