A vehicle leasing association is among those calling for a re-evaluation of the new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Amendment Bill – focused on a traffic demerit system – as it may negatively impact the travel and tourism sector.

The AARTO Bill was first proposed in 2009 to change the behaviour of all drivers by introducing a new 12-point demerit system which that result in the suspension or cancellation of a driving licence. It is now set for implementation in June this year.

General Manager of the Southern African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (Savrala), Sandile Ntseoane, believes the Bill will create an unnecessarily large administrative burden for the car-hire industry – adding another significant layer of administrative costs related to the multiple new charges structured into the system.

“All industries will be faced with huge increases in operating costs. These will come from developing systems and structures such as payment for the view of demerit points relating to drivers and the levies and penalties required by the Road Traffic Infringement Agency,” said Ntseoane.

“The exact impact is unquantified at this stage, but car-hire pricing will go up significantly and, as tourism is price elastic, demand will go down and the car-hire industry will shrink, possibly significantly.”

As a result, Savrala is taking action to ensure government fully understands the impact as it calls for a review of the Bill. “The Savrala AARTO sub-committee was established to monitor and review the impact of the Bill. The sub-committee and Savrala are working with, amongst others, Business Unity South Africa and the National Economic Development and Labour Council” said Ntseoane.

He told Tourism Update that there were many glaring problems in the proposed implementation. “We will be tabling this formally to the Portfolio Committee on Tourism Strategic Planning Session via Tourism Business Council South Africa, and highlighting the impact of the implementation of AARTO on the tourism sector.”

Alta Swanepoel, legal expert and author of the Road Traffic & Road Transport Legislation Service and Manuals, published by LexisNexis, believes that the Bill should be promoted and supported.

“AARTO simply makes companies accountable for their vehicles. There is no reason to think it will have a negative impact,” said Swanepoel. “As the lack of road safety in South Africa is one of the aspects that scares tourists away, one would think the industry would support the government’s initiative to promote road safety.”