Road Accident Fund Amendment Act 2008

Initially the premise of this legislation was to protect pedestrians against motorised vehicular traffic and was later extended to include passengers. The protection afforded was in the form of the assurance that road-accident victims would be able to recover damages and would not be placed in a position that having succeeded in establishing a claim, they subsequently found that the wrongdoer was incapable of settling the claim. Fundamentally, the legislator acknowledged and respected the intended road accident victim’s common law right to claim damages. (Acknowledgement to Professor Hennie Klopper, De Rebus, August 2008.)

However, it should be noted that the recent amendments to the legislation have been received with mixed feelings.

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The Amendment Act effectively abolished the common law right to sue and proposed a cap on the amount recoverable as loss of income of R160 000. Further medical costs payable were to be based on the tariff of public health establishments. This has in effect shifted the responsibility on to individuals to ensure that they have adequate insurance cover. While this may be viewed as an opportunity for the development of insurance products, there is still a great deal of uncertainty regarding the interpretation of certain sections.

The Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) challenged the constitutionality of the Road Accident Fund Amendment Act, on the basis that it deprives road accident victims of rights, proper treatment and compensation.

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Road Accident Fund Amendment Act 2008

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