It seems that a recent proposal from the Department of Transport has caused quite a stir on social media over the past few days. The Automobile Association (AA) has confirmed that speed limits have not changed and that trucks will not see a restricted amount of road time. The AA goes on to advise people not to repeat rumours about these laws without factual information.
The AA states that many people are incapable of identifying the difference between a law and a proposal and that these “Facebook warriors” are only spreading panic without contributing to the process of law making:
The association went on to explain that the Minister of Transport is entitled to instate and alter regulations to the National Road Traffic Act so long as the proper process is followed. All of these proposals are published in the Government Gazette to which a comment period is provided in order to give citizens a platform to express their opinions.
The frenzy that recently occurred on Facebook was based on a regulation that was proposed in 2015 which suggested lowering the speed limits and banning heavy vehicles during certain hours of the day. AA states that a lot of regulations are proposed to the Department of Traffic but very few see the light of day and are usually outright dismissed or heavily watered down.
The AA suggests that if the public wants to have more of an influence with regards new new laws and legislation, the should submit their opinions to the Department of Traffic during the comment period and not on social media when it is too late.
