For nearly a month, motorists in Nelson Mandela Bay have driven with one less reason to think twice before running a red light, speeding through the suburbs or driving an unroadworthy vehicle.
Not because the law changed. Not because traffic officers went on strike.
But because the books needed to issue fines never arrived.
If that sounds absurd, it is.
The rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system in Nelson Mandela Bay is a case study for absurdity.
The city’s traffic officers have been left with their hands tied, unable to issue fines for many road traffic offences since July 1.
The infringement books are still outstanding, officers are not fully linked to the national system, and a required agreement with the South African Post Office cannot be signed as the institution remains under business rescue.
The city’s acting traffic chief, Pathmanathan Gounder, insists the municipality has done what it can and repeatedly warned provincial and national authorities that it was not ready.
If his account is accurate, those warnings were ignored.
That raises an uncomfortable question: who thought this was an acceptable way to launch a national traffic enforcement system?
Road safety does not stop while government logistics catch up.
Every day without effective enforcement is another day when reckless drivers gamble that they will get away with it.
Most drivers obey the law because it is the right thing to do.
Some obey because there are consequences if they do not.
Remove those consequences and the deterrent begins to disappear.
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is already under severe financial strain.
Worse still, under Aarto, the municipality stands to receive a smaller share of fine revenue than under the previous system, while carrying much of the burden of enforcement.
No-one can argue against modernising traffic law enforcement. Aarto promises greater administrative efficiency and consistency across the country.
But reforms succeed when the foundations are in place.
You cannot expect officers to enforce laws without the tools to do so.
You cannot demand compliance from municipalities while the state itself fails to deliver the essentials.
The irony is difficult to ignore.
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