The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) has confirmed that all motorists will begin with a clean record once the new Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system goes live.
One of the most controversial aspects of South Africa’s new driving laws is that it will introduce a demerit point system where individuals will receive points on their driver’s licence for various traffic offences.
Once a person exceeds 15 points, their licence will be suspended.
However, the RTIA clarified via a series of social media posts that motorists will not begin with any points on their licence once the new laws take effect.
“Everyone gets zero points to start. Rack up 15 points, and your licence is suspended for three months. Do that three times, and your licence isn’t suspended, it’s cancelled,” it said.
On the other hand, it did warn that outstanding fines issued under the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) must be cleared to avoid extra penalties.
It told MyBroadband that all infringements committed before Aarto is fully implemented will be handled in accordance with the provisions of the CPA.
“The expectation is that such CPA infringements/violations should be cleared within a two-year period after the Aarto Act has come into effect in the proclaimed jurisdictions,” said RTIA spokesperson Monde Mkalipi.
Anyone who is concerned that their unpaid CPA fines will result in demerit points being added to their licence once the system goes lives has nothing to worry about.
“No demerit points will be allocated on infringements committed during the CPA regime. Demerit points will only be allocated to infringements committed during the Aarto period,” said Mkalipi.
“Demerit points will come into effect on the day on which the President proclaims demerit points to come into effect.”
The RTIA explained that all motorists will start with zero points, and that it is possible to incur up to six points per infringement, depending on the severity of the offence.
“2 to 4 points for more serious violations such as running a red light or moderate speeding,” it said.
Anyone caught driving at speeds 21 to 25km/h over the speed limit will receive two demerit points, while those travelling 30 to 35km/h over the limit will be given four points.
Only the most severe offences, like driving under the influence, will receive six points for a single infringement.
Aarto delayed
The first phase of the Aarto rollout was originally scheduled to begin on 1 December 2025, but this date has since been pushed back to 1 July 2026.
The Department of Transport stated that the reason for the delay was that some municipalities included in phase one of the rollout were not ready to implement it.
It said it identified the following issues during an assessment:
- The finalization of training of both law enforcement and back office personnel.
- The harmonisation of the current law enforcement system used by various municipalities, and funding thereof.
Aarto will still follow a staggered implementation as initially envisaged, though with a new starting date of 1 July 2026.
Stakeholders in the industry like the Automobile Association (AA) and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) have warned that these delays show that Aarto is deeply flawed and not ready to be implemented in South Africa.
The AA raised concerns that the laws will fail to bring about meaningful change in our driving landscape, as it fails to address the underlying road safety challenges faced in South Africa.
“South Africa’s persistent road fatalities point to deeper systemic factors, including law enforcement inefficiencies, road user education and behaviour, vehicle fitness, and safety, and infrastructure,” it said.
Outa stated that it was not surprised by the delay, as Aarto is unfeasible in its current form.
“This delay was inevitable,” said Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage.
“Aarto was never ready, not in 2020, not in 2024, and certainly not now.”
“These repeated postponements confirm what we have warned all along: the system is unworkable in its current form.”
The organisation warned that Outa’s current form is hastily rewritten from the version seen in 2020, and that this was done without public participation.
Additionally, the most recent amendments, published on 31 October 2025, include pages of illegible text in the schedules that list offences, fines, and demerit points.
“Citizens cannot comply with laws they cannot read,” said Duvenage.
“That’s not enforcement; that’s confusion.”
Loading ...
