New traffic rules: Five possible interventions that could come into law

Transport Minister, Blade Nzimande has presented his department’s plan to introduce new laws to make South Africa’s roads safer, following what has been yet another bloody festive season.

The Department of Transport recently released 2018 Festive Season Road Safety statistics, which revealed that 1 612 people lost their lives in the country’s roads in the period between 1 December 2018 and 8 January 2019.

Nzimande said Government plans to clamp down on reckless driving, particularly drunk driving, and has scheduled a meeting in February to discuss new laws that could soon be implemented to reduce the scourge of road fatalities.

“The Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) will be meeting next month to discuss further urgent interventions that need to be implemented to reduce the carnage on our roads,” Nzimande said

“These discussions will centre on key policy interventions that are required to strengthen traffic law enforcement throughout the country”.

Possible new traffic laws set to be discussed

• The implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act and the driver points
  demerit system, which could see drivers lose their licences if they continue to transgress past a certain threshold.

• The upgrading of all traffic offences to Schedule 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act, and the introduction of a mandatory minimum sentence for ‘drunken driving, inconsiderate, reckless and negligent driving.

• Engaging with the SAPS and the Department of Justice on the conditions for the granting of bail to offenders.

• The road safety curriculum has been finalised and is set to be rolled out in schools across the country.

• The RTMC will work closely with driving schools to improve safety on the roads by ensuring the production of competent drivers.