Section 30(1) of the AARTO Act provides that any document required to be served in terms of the AARTO Act must be served in person or by so-called “registered mail”. While the use of standard postage to post AARTO infringement notices ceased in December 2012, this does not mean that all, or even a high proportion of AARTO documents are delivered by the South African Post Office (SAPO). In fact, it is more common for such documents not to be delivered by the SAPO, even if they are posted using so-called “secure mail”.

What’s worse is that if/when you exercise any of the options available to you, the RTIA and issuing authorities do not post notifications to you stating that they have received such elective options, or notifying you of the outcome thereof.

Thankfully, anyone can check the status of infringement notices issued against their particulars on the RTIA website.

You will need to click on “query my fine”. As a security measure, that facility requires that individuals provide their ID number and driving licence card number. Juristic entities must provide their business register number and the ID number of their proxy. It can also only be accessed by IP addresses which are based in South Africa.

Many people who use that facility on the aarto.gov.za website are often surprised by what they see, quite simply because they have not received any notifications from the SAPO to collect AARTO documents that have been recorded against their particulars. For this reason, and so that you may track the status of elective options you exercise, it is highly recommended that you use this free facility.

Now read: nominating the driver.