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AARTO – Another Business Headache?

Aug 20, 2015 AARTO, fleet management, fleet, Business, logistics


The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act will provide a myriad of challenges to business which operate a vehicle fleet. That is according to an executive at Absa Vehicle Asset Finance.

The AARTO system is expected to be rolled out country wide in 2016 following initial delays.

A key aspect of AARTO is the demerit system, which will see habitual transgressors’ licenses being suspended. It will also mean added administration for business that own a large number of vehicles.

Business will be responsible for ensuring that their drivers have valid drivers’ licenses and will have to track if drivers have incurred fines in their personal capacity or while on duty. In addition, owners who are unaware of a fine on a particular vehicle and who fail to pay it as a result, could see the license renewals, registrations and de-registrations for their entire fleet being withheld leading to further costs.

“The roll out of AARTO could spell major administrative problems for businesses which operate large vehicle fleets. Companies that do not track incoming fines or pay them on time could see their vehicles being taken off the road or their proxy facing prosecution,” says Wessel Steffens, Absa Vehicle Asset Finance (AVAF) Managing Executive. In order to help customers manage the administration around their vehicle fleet AVAF have developed its Fine’s and Licensing solution. The latter is an electronic interface with 25 municipal districts across the country allowing users to track outstanding fines and license fees.

“We are then able to notify the customer of these fines. We send these fine notifications directly to the company so they can see which driver is responsible for the fine and track driver behavior. This also helps us protect the customer’s proxy,” says Steffens.

Absa is the first bank in South Africa to provide this service and plans to extend it and to pay outstanding amounts directly to the municipalities on behalf of Absa clients in the future.

“We believe in helping our clients stick to their core business by managing some of the aggravating and stressful aspects that come with doing so. That’s what’s behind our drive to continuously develop these types of solutions. We are truly helping them prosper by delivering value added services.”

 

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