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JOHANNESBURG - Only a tiny percentage of Gautengers pay their traffic fines up front, according to reports.
The annual report of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) revealed that drivers on the national contraventions register owe R1.6-billion in outstanding traffic penalties issued in the Tshwane and Johannesburg metros, City Press reported.
ONLY NINE PERCENT
RTIA said drivers in Tshwane and Johannesburg racked up R980-million in penalties between April 2011 and March 2012 but have paid only R86-million (nine percent) of that total.
Tshwane and Johannesburg were the only metro municipalities which participated in the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) pilot phase.
Aarto makes provision for a contravention register that captures outstanding traffic penalties countrywide. Aarto will also prevent drivers with outstanding traffic fines from renewing their vehicle and driving licences*.
Transport minister Ben Martins is expected to announce the introduction of the Aarto Act in early 2013. RTIA was set up to implement the act.
Of the 1.8-million fines issued in Johannesburg and Tshwane in the past financial year, only 251 125 (14%) were paid.
*Wheels24 asks: ''Is that smart?" People, being generally non-law abiding in South Africa, will simply carry on driving. Should they then be in a collision, unlicensed, they will also be uninsured for both their vehicle and injuries and, worse, those of other road users involved in the crash.
The annual report of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) revealed that drivers on the national contraventions register owe R1.6-billion in outstanding traffic penalties issued in the Tshwane and Johannesburg metros, City Press reported.
ONLY NINE PERCENT
RTIA said drivers in Tshwane and Johannesburg racked up R980-million in penalties between April 2011 and March 2012 but have paid only R86-million (nine percent) of that total.
Tshwane and Johannesburg were the only metro municipalities which participated in the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) pilot phase.
Aarto makes provision for a contravention register that captures outstanding traffic penalties countrywide. Aarto will also prevent drivers with outstanding traffic fines from renewing their vehicle and driving licences*.
Transport minister Ben Martins is expected to announce the introduction of the Aarto Act in early 2013. RTIA was set up to implement the act.
Of the 1.8-million fines issued in Johannesburg and Tshwane in the past financial year, only 251 125 (14%) were paid.
*Wheels24 asks: ''Is that smart?" People, being generally non-law abiding in South Africa, will simply carry on driving. Should they then be in a collision, unlicensed, they will also be uninsured for both their vehicle and injuries and, worse, those of other road users involved in the crash.
