Organisational Structure
Organisational Overview
The role of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency is to forge a closer, more effective and efficient link between the enforcement and adjudication processes. The agency is mandated to ensure the implementation of objective, transparent and fair systems that encourage compliance with all road traffic laws. The RTIA was scheduled on 31 December 2010, retrospectively from 1 April 2010.
Mandate and Functions
The RTIA derives its mandate and functions
from the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, 1998 (Act No. 46 of 1998), herein-after referred to as the AARTO Act, which states that the objects of the Agency, are, despite the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977), herein-after referred to as the CPA:
(a) to encourage compliance with the national and provincial laws and municipal by-laws relating to road traffic and to promote road traffic safety;
(b) to encourage the payment of penalties imposed for infringements and to allow alleged minor infringers to make representations;
(c) to establish a procedure for the effective and expeditious adjudication of infringements;
(d) to alleviate the burden on the courts of trying offenders for infringements;
(e) to penalise drivers and operators who are guilty of infringements or offences through the imposition of demerit points leading to the suspension and cancellation of driving licences, professional driving permits or operator cards;
(f) to reward law-abiding behaviour by reducing demerit points where they have been incurred if infringements or offences are not committed over specified periods;
(g) to establish an agency to support the law enforcement and judicial authorities and to undertake the administrative adjudication process; and
(h) to strengthen co-operation between the prosecuting and law enforcement authorities by establishing a board to govern the agency.
The AARTO Act therefore envisaged the establishment of an agency to manage the adjudication of road traffic offences in the country. This stems from a process of decriminalizing certain traffic violations, which in their majority are classified as infringements, and thereby deal with them administratively in order to introduce the necessary efficiencies. Whereas all matters related to traffic violations were previously dealt with under the CPA, with the establishment of the agency and implementation of the AARTO Act, most of these matters are now dealt with administratively, with the resultant effect of freeing the courts and judicial authorities to deal with more serious criminal matters. From its inception, the agency realized that the magnitude of its functions is great and thus an appropriate and supportive culture was required to enhance the performance of the entity and the successful achievement of its mandate.
