Motorists in South Africa have been warned to remain vigilant when interacting with digital communication regarding the payment of outstanding traffic fines.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) alerted vehicle owners to a scam currently going around that demands the immediate payment of traffic fines.
“Vehicle owners are advised to exercise vigilance not to fall prey to digital scammers who are sending scam emails through fraudulent websites designed to confuse them and steal money or personal information,” said the corporation.
“We have discovered a scam email purporting to be ‘official communication from the National Traffic Information System’ (NaTIS) and the Department of Transport.”
The RTMC highlighted that the scam email, which demands that motorists take immediate action to pay outstanding fees for overdue traffic fines, uses an illicit URL.
“The URL address is natis.online.services. This is fake and a scam, and its connection is unsecured,” it declared.
“We put it on record that the RTMC, through its online services website, does not send fine notices to motorists.”
“Any fine notice received by a motorist purporting to be from the https://online.natis.gov.za/#/ should be treated as a scam.”
Scammers are already taking advantage of the confusion surrounding yesterday’s launch of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO).
Despite opposition from the civil rights organisation AfriForum and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), President Cyril Ramaphosa approved its commencement.
As a result, the new traffic laws are officially in effect in 62 municipalities across South Africa, with the act entering Phase 2 of its implementation.
This brought the country’s largest municipalities under the new administrative system for traffic infringements, including metros Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay, Mangaung, Ekurhuleni, and Durban, but not the City of Cape Town.
Tshwane and Johannesburg, which previously used a pilot version of the system, have also been incorporated into the new national framework.
Clarifying South Africa’s new traffic laws
The new law values traffic violations at R100 each, with total penalties calculated by multiplying this by the penalty points associated with a specific offence.
Motorists can receive a 50% discount if they pay outstanding fines within 32 days, while after this period, a courtesy letter is issued, adding another R100 penalty and revoking the discount.
Motorists who fail to pay outstanding penalties within another 32 days will trigger an enforcement notice and receive another R100 fee.
Traffic infringements under the new system are served electronically via the AARTO website, through confirmed digital addresses, or regular mail, with sensitive notices sent via Registered Mail.
Once an enforcement notice is issued, the infringer will be blocked from renewing their vehicle licence disc or driver’s licence, as well as from registering new vehicles until the order is resolved.
It must be noted that while the AARTO rollout has begun, Phase 2 does not include the new demerit point system, which will be added in Phase 4.
Once implemented, motorists will start with zero points and accumulate demerit points on their licences for various traffic offences, with the number of points dependent on the severity of the offence.
When an individual exceeds 15 points, their licence will be suspended for three months for every point over the limit, during which time driving will be treated as a criminal offence.
Should a licence be suspended for a third time, it will be cancelled, requiring the motorist to retake their learner’s and driver’s tests to receive a new card once the suspension period is over.
The government will also provide a rehabilitation service for drivers with suspended licences, allowing them to shorten the suspension period at the end of the course.
Demerit points will be reduced by one for every three months of offence-free driving, while completing a rehabilitation programme will remove four points.
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