Big changes for speeding fines in South Africa

The way that speeding fines are issued is set to change when South Africa’s new driving laws come into effect a little over a month from now.

Right now, speeding tickets in South Africa can vary greatly depending on where they were issued, but this will change under the incoming Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO).

While most fines typically start at around R250 for speeds 10km/h to 20km/h over the limit, there is no standardised system for speeding fines in South Africa, meaning that rates can vary between municipalities.

This is because almost every municipality in the country treats speeding as an offence under the Criminal Procedure Act.

Under this system, motorists are “innocent until proven guilty” and are allowed to challenge fines in court if they choose to argue they are not guilty.

However, the new AARTO laws will make sweeping changes to the way that speeding fines are handled across South Africa.

AARTO, which is scheduled to launch on 1 July 2026, will separate traffic violations into two categories – infringements and offences.

Minor actions will be treated as infringements, while more severe cases will be listed as offences.

This distinction is important because motorists have to go through a different process depending on the traffic violation.

Infringements will be handled administratively by the Road Traffic Infringement Agency, while offences will go through the legal system.

This new system was supposed to be introduced years ago; however, AARTO has been delayed several times due to a number of setbacks and operational hurdles.

Most recently, it was meant to go live on 1 December 2025, but the launch date was pushed back because several municipalities were not ready to implement it.

When it finally does launch, AARTO will initially be rolled out across 69 of South Africa’s largest municipalities.

The remaining 144 municipalities will be added on 1 October 2026.

AARTO is already in use in the Johannesburg and Tshwane metros, albeit in a far more limited capacity that excludes many of the new provisions, such as the licence card demerit point system.

How traffic fines in South Africa will change this July

AARTO is meant to streamline South Africa’s traffic laws and create a national system for handling offences.

Schedule 3 of the Act defines three main road types, urban, rural, and freeways, which will have different fine amounts for motorists caught exceeding the speed limit by more than 10km/h.

Fines will start at R400 for speeds 11km/h to 12km/h over the limit, after which the fine will increase for every additional 2km/h.

Once the speed infraction hits 18km/h, motorists will incur the same penalty regardless of the road type, receiving a R1,000 fine and two demerit points on their licence.

In urban areas, motorists can be arrested for driving at speeds 30km/h over the limit.

However, in rural areas, drivers must exceed the limit by at least 40km/h before they can be arrested.

The highest penalty a person can receive under the new system is a R3,200 fine and six demerit points.

The demerit system is one of the most controversial parts of AARTO, as motorists can lose their licence if they accumulate too many points.

Once AARTO is introduced, all motorists will be given a blank slate with zero points, regardless of whether they have outstanding fines.

Motorists will then receive anywhere from one to six demerit points, depending on the severity of the infringement or offence.

Once a person receives 15 or more points, their licence will be suspended.

If a repeat offender has their licence suspended three times, it will be cancelled and they will be forced to redo their learner and driving exams once the suspension period ends.

Demerit points expire at a rate of one every three months, meaning a driver would have to commit several offences in a relatively short period to have their licence taken away.

This table shows the fine amount and the number of demerit points motorists will receive for speeding in different areas: