Parliament's portfolio committee on transport is fully behind the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto), chariperson Ruth Bhengu said on Tuesday.

"We think that Aarto is better than the current system as it encourages quality driving and responsibility in drivers," Bhengu said during a briefing by the Department of Transport on the implementation of Aarto.

Bhengu said that reducing road carnage was crucial for South Africa as the increase in the number of road deaths in the country was alarming.

The current method of fining drivers is not working as drivers could pay fines and continue to break the law, she said.

"The current system does not deal with the root cause of the problem, it just deals with the symptoms," Bhengu said.

The implementation of Aarto would instil a sense of responsibility in drivers across the country as they would not repeat offences for fear of their drivers licences being taken away.

"Aarto would ensure that government does not lose monies as is currently the case to thousands of road victims as a result of recklessness on the roads," Bhengu said.

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said during the briefing that the implementation of Aarto had been postponed from October.

Aarto is currently being implemented on a trial basis in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

"As part of the new National Rolling Enforcement Plan (NREP) that we announced on September 10, 2010, 1 053-million vehicles and drivers have been stopped and checked and thousands of fines issued for various traffic offences from October 1 to October31, 2010," Ndebele said.

"Thousands of people are being needlessly killed and maimed every year because of the way South Africans drive. But road safety is not what you do to the community. It is what we do with the community."

Ndebele said the "most significant factor" that Aarto had introduced for drivers was 12 chances for self-correction.

"Under the current Road Traffic Act, that chance does not exist.

"Together with the nine Transport MECs, we currently sit with thousands of appeals for leniency by drivers who have broken the law. Once your driving licence is endorsed, appeal to the MEC and Minister is the only avenue for review under current legislation.

"Aarto introduces an improved regime. A bad driver is afforded a window to become a good driver. That happens over time. That happens not after one infringement, as currently as is the case, but with 12."

Ndebele said that once an offence was committed, a driver stood a very good chance of having a criminal record for at least five years.

"Recently, a South African citizen who applied for a visa to the US went through an embarrassing challenge because immigration in that country picked up that he had a criminal record.

"It turned out that the criminal record was a traffic offence. But a crime is a crime."

Ndebele said that a points demerit system would be implemented at a later stage.

"Demerit points are therefore not effective on any current infringement notice," he said.