What drivers in South Africa need to know about the looming Aarto Act
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The long-awaited driver demerit system is likely to come into effect this year. The Administration Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto) has been in the works for a while – since a trial in 2008, in fact – but it’s now firmly back on the agenda, with commencement planned for July.
Seen as a silver bullet to curb the country’s road fatality rate – South Africa ranks 13th out of 195 countries for its number of road deaths per capita – Aarto has big implications for drivers and their insurance.
While we do not explicitly point to AARTO or any similar legislation, Santam says in its policy wording that it will exclude all cover incurred by an insured vehicle if it is being driven by:
• the Insured who does not comply with the licensing laws of the country where the defined event happened;
• any other person who drives with the general consent of the Insured and does not comply with the country s licensing laws where the defined event happened.
Santam s wording includes a Compulsory Condition that obliges the Insured to advise the Company if any driving licence of the Insured or authorised driver of the Insured is suspended or cancelled.