If you were at the receiving end of a traffic fine in the last nine years, then there’s an incredibly strong chance that you won’t have to pay for it.
Gauteng, South Africa – The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled that millions of traffic fines issued in Johannesburg and Pretoria under the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act since 2008 must be scrapped where authorities did not comply with the act’s conditions.
The ruling comes after the high court on Friday confirmed traffic authorities have to abide by the letter of the Aarto Act, and ordered that the fines before the court must be cancelled.
The fines were also found to have not been sent by registered mailing services.
Millions of fines issued to motorists in Johannesburg and Pretoria since 2008 will be scrapped.
The court ruled in favour of Fines4U, which represented Audi Johannesburg against the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA).
Fines4U owner Cornelia van Niekerk said this ruling could affect a large percentage of the millions of fines issued over the past six years.
The Johannesburg Metro Police issued 5.3 million traffic fines from 2015 to 2016, and the Tshwane Metro Police issued 1.1 million in the same period.
The court found that the RTIA did not comply with the prescribed notification periods detailed in the AARTO Act, nullifying many traffic fines issued since the act’s implementation.
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