The Road Accident Fund - Part II
As the festive season draws increasingly near, most of us start picturing end of year holidays and road trips to exotic destinations. In fact, according to Statistic Release of Tourism and Migration in December 2022 “road transport was the most common mode of travel used by 1 902 054 (66,0%) travellers”. Road trips – via stats alone – indicate that people love getting into their cars and driving to their holiday destination. It’s all part of the trip, part of the holiday and part of fun.
It therefore stands to reason that taking cognisance of road safety becomes crucial. Part of that is understanding which body and what laws may apply to you should something go awry during your road trip.
The subject matter of this particular series - The Road Accident Fund (“RAF”) – suddenly comes into view.
In our previous article we discussed the RAF in general and went into specifics regarding who can claim from it and what can be claimed.
But the most important portion of this series is the draft Road Accident Fund Amendment Bill 2023 (the “Bill”)which was published on 8 September 2023 and submitted for public comment (within 30 days). Whilst amendments to Acts are not unusual the extent to which this proposed Bill will alter the current status quo has many concerned.
To this end the Law Society of Southern Africa (“LSSA”) has said the following –
“If the draft Bill becomes law the rights of all drivers, passengers, and pedestrians to claim compensation for injuries they suffer in a motor vehicle accident will be taken away. In its place will be significantly reduced “social benefits”.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at what the proposed changes are.
Proposed changes suggested by the Bill
If one takes a look at the proposed aim of the Bill, the intention behind it seems anything but compensatory. For example -
· to limit the liability of the Fund to motor vehicle accidents occurring on public roads;
· to remove the obligation for the Fund to compensate a third party for non-pecuniary loss;
· to provide for the provision by the Fund of injury and death benefits subject to prescribed limits and periodical review;
· to clarify exclusions of liability of the Fund, and
· to provide for the further exclusion of the Fund’s liability in respect of specific third parties and specific situations.
To amplify this – and as set out by Moonstone – “the bill includes a complete restructuring of the RAF, moving it away from a “compensation” to a “social benefits” structure where it “can provide injury and death benefits subject to prescribed limits and periodical review”. Not only will the extent (amount) of such benefits be limited but also the circumstances under which (and the duration for which) they could be claimable”.
Proposed changes that require attention –
As we can see from the above there are numerous changes that will affect society at large – with lump sum payments being restricted and access to private hospitals being limited due to tariffs not covering private hospital fees, the poor and working class will feel the brunt of these amendments.
Those that can afford private hospitals will be compelled to take out private accident cover for medical and other expenses as well as accident benefits. This is likely to be expensive, as there will be no reimbursement of expenses covered from the RAF.
Lastly, road accident victims will be distinctly discriminated against as their rights to be compensated for harm suffered by the fault of another will be taken away. And this is a unique situation as those that suffer injury while – for example – on a train or in a plane or on a boat, or in shopping centres, hotels, construction sites, holiday resorts, private homes or by electrocution or pollution and by a host of other causes, have unfettered rights to seek compensation from the person or entity who caused them harm (LSSA).
What the future of the Act will be is uncertain. The only thing we can do - at this stage at least - is to wait and see.
(Sources used and to whom we give thanks – LSSA; Moonstone; Ground Up and the Road Accident Fund).
There’s a lot to take in and it promises to be a complex problem to solve – especially if the Bill is passed. If you or someone close to you has been in a motor vehicle accident, we implore you to get in touch with us to see how we can be of assistance.
If fact, if you have any questions on the information we have set out above or have a personal issue which you want to discuss with us, please don’t hesitate to contact us at NVDB Attorneys.
We are a law firm that considers honesty to be core to our business. We are a law firm that will provide you with clear advice and smart strategies - always keeping your best interests at heart!
