78 / 92
Mei 2015
76
Road Traffic Act:
Know what is expected of you
A
successful Agbiz Grain Logistics workshop was held on
11 February this year to address aspects of the National
Road Traffic Act 22nd Amendment affecting the transport-
ers of grain. Although 135 delegates from the grain han-
dling and storage industry attended the workshop, the information
is also relevant to grain producers who transport grain to the silos or
to the site of a buyer such as a mill or a processor.
The new regulations pertaining to the National Road Traffic Act,
which came into effect on 31 October 2014 and on 31 January 2015
(Regulations 330A to 330D) apply to consignors (senders) and con-
signees (receivers) that transport 500 000 kg and more per month.
Mrs Alta Swanepoel, a legal expert, was one of the speakers at this
workshop.
Section 74A of the Act requires a consignor, as well as a consignee,
to take all reasonable steps to avoid overloading a vehicle. Further-
more, in the event of prosecution, the consignor or consignee must
be able to indicate what steps were taken to avoid the overloading
of vehicles. Section 74B requires accurate documentation, as it
may be used as evidence in court cases. Regulations 330A and 330B
explain in detail the responsibilities of a consignor or consignee.
Offering and acceptance of goods on
overloaded vehicles are prohibited
This regulation states that a consignor or consignee of goods shall
not offer goods or accept goods if the vehicle in which it is trans-
ported is not loaded in terms of the provisions for the loading and
transportation of goods as prescribed in this Act.
“Traffic officers will quickly detect if a vehicle carries more weight
than it should. The documentation that has to accompany a vehicle
will be a give-away if the truck is overloaded. If the officers have
their doubts, the vehicle will be directed to the nearest weighing
bridge and this is compulsory,” Swanepoel said.
Method of determining mass
She said that the distribution of the weight on a truck is the impor-
tant factor that determines the load’s potential to damage roads.
“In the past, most consignors only checked the total mass of the
vehicle and not the axle masses as well. The new regulations stipu-
late that the weight that each axle carries must be calculated, as well
as other factors, such as the weight of the diesel or petrol it carries.
A “one-tonner”, for instance, does not mean that the truck can carry
one ton of weight. Other factors also add to the one ton and these
have to be calculated as well,” Swanepoel explained.
Goods declaration to be carried on a
motor vehicle
The Road Traffic Act 22nd Amendment requires a person operating
a motor vehicle which carries goods on a public road, to be in pos-
session of a declaration containing the following information:
The licence number of each vehicle in the combination of vehicles.
The nature and quantity of goods transported.
The contact particulars of the operator, or in the case of a
combination of vehicles, of every operator in the combination
of vehicles.
The particulars of the consignor and consignee of the load or
in the case of loads collected at and delivered to more than one
consignor and consignee, the particulars of every consignor or
consignee.
The name, residential and postal address of every natural per-
son or in the case of a juristic person, the responsible director
or member, an agent, consignor, consignee or operator listed in
the declaration.
The consignor and operator shall conclude a written agreement
for the transportation of goods stating:
The nature of the agreement,
the loading instructions, and
the responsibilities of the parties.
A schedule of insurance as contemplated in regulation 330D.
Compulsory liability insurance
A consignor or consignee of goods shall not transport goods on
a public road or accept goods unless such transportation is fully
insured for damages that can occur as a result of an incident.
Swanepoel said that some of the other amendments to the Nation-
al Road Traffic Act also include that 80 km/h signs on the back of
trucks are compulsory as from October 2014, speed limitation de-
vices will be required on all new vehicles from December 2016 and
all new trucks will be fitted with this device.
If you do not comply...
For overloading you can be fined up to R240 000 or six years im-
prisonment (one year imprisonment = R40 000) or both. Swanepoel
says that this offence is on the same level as drunken driving – “two
of the most serious offences of the National Road Traffic Act”.
Regulations and compliance
Mr Gavin Kelly from the Road Freight Association (RFA) says that
inconsistent policing is the first challenge they are faced with. “There
are huge levels of corruption among officers, stretching from fines
to dockets. Traffic officers have poor technical skills and can often
not perform basic, but also fundamental tasks,” Kelly said.
A second challenge is administration. Some of these difficulties in-
clude: Lengthy delays in getting permits and licences out and no
co-ordination between transport and traffic departments.
When it comes to freight policy, government believes that remov-
ing trucks off the roads will “solve” many problems like congestion,
pollution, accidents and road damage. “Such a short-sighted ap-
proach will damage many business undertakings.”
The biggest challenge in this country in terms of road freight is op-
erator licensing. “These problems include poor control over the
granting of operating permits; no centralised system to record op-
erator details and their history; and non-compliant operators who
operate under the radar and who seem to be immune.” Some other
challenges include: Aberrant operators getting back on the roads
without having had to correct their operations or the condition
RELEVANT
AGBIZ MEDIA RELEASE, MARIANA PURNELL,
Agbiz Grain and
RUTH SCHULTZ,
SA Graan/Grain
contributor