South Africa currently has over 13.1 million vehicles on its roads, a figure that’s increasing by around 170,000 per year, yet the vast majority of these are not required to undergo regular roadworthy testing.
Unroadworthy vehicles are one of the leading causes of road accidents in South Africa, meaning that many accidents could be prevented by regular vehicle maintenance and periodic testing.
At present only vehicles that are used for ‘reward’ are required to be tested for roadworthiness on a regular basis. For taxis and trucks this is required to take place annually, and every six months in the case of buses.
Currently private vehicles, which account for around 79% of the vehicles on our roads, are only required to be tested after a change of ownership.
The Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) believes that periodic testing of all vehicles should be introduced as a legal requirement, in line with recent recommendations by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its 2023 Global Status Report on Road Safety.
“We believe that the implementation of Periodic Vehicle Testing and Inspection (PTI) will yield great benefits to the country in terms of reducing road deaths, creating jobs and stimulating the retail sector with the maintenance of vehicles in a safe and roadworthy condition,” said RMI Chief Executive Ipeleng Mabusela.
“With the regulation already published, just not yet enacted by the Transport Ministry, the RMI still strongly believes the time is right to implement these key changes.”
However, the RMI stressed that such initiatives would need to form part of a holistic approach to road safety, implemented in conjunction with roadside checks for unsafe vehicles as well as measures to reduce drunk driving and other unsafe road behaviours.
The Department of Transport (DOT) has yet to publish a date for the implementation of periodic testing for private vehicles, even though regulations were put in place as far back as 2014. The amendment to “Regulation 138” stated that all vehicles that are 10 years of age or older would be required to undergo roadworthy testing every two years. The amendment has yet to be gazetted.
The DOT did this week launch a new digitisation project for vehicle testing stations currently run by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
The DOT said this would create a digital footprint within the network, which would help stamp out corruption, while also streamlining the testing process. Smart technologies are also set to be rolled out at Driving Licence Testing Centres around the country.
IOL