Metro police have admitted that those fines issued are considered “stale” and will eventually be deemed “null and void”.
Whilst the JMPD has spent more than R60million issuing the fines, it did so by “secure mail” and not by registered mail. And the fines were issued “outside the prescription period” stipulated in the Administrative Adjudication of Road Offences (Aarto) Act.
Problems identified so far include that:
- It took three years to arrange the financing of posting first-infringement notices by registered mail;
- Fewer than 5% of infringement notices sent by registered mail are complied with; and All infringement notices are invalid because the Road Traffic Infringement Agency failed to comply with the requirement that it send courtesy letters and enforcement orders.
- Central to the malfunctioning of Aarto is the Road Traffic Infringement Agency, which is intended to collect fines on behalf of issuing authorities. The report reveals that the agency has not got the money it needs to do its job. The agency is crippled by the high cost of serving infringement notices, courtesy letters and enforcement orders.
- Because it was unable to send out courtesy letters and enforcement orders, “all infringement notices are legally null and void”.
- The refusal of so many motorists to pay fines has severely hampered the implementation of Aarto.
- In 2011-2012, more than 1.7million notices, representing fines totalling R980-million, were issued. But tickets that should have brought in R893-million were unpaid.
- Motorists might eventually be made to pay for the R2.6-billion the authorities are battling to collect as Aarto tries to stay afloat.
- The Transport Department’s report suggests doubling the average traffic fine from R500 to R1000 and increasing the charge for courtesy letters and enforcement notices from R60 to R100.
You can contact Call Centre on 0860-JOBURG or 0860 562 874 to get a list of all outstanding traffic fines.
