You can get traffic fines for offences you didn’t commit in South Africa

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has warned that motorists may be hit with penalties for infringements they didn’t commit under South Africa’s new traffic laws.

OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage noted that number plate cloning is a common issue in South Africa, which is likely to cause severe problems under the new  Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system.

“Let’s say your number plates are cloned, which happens very often by the way. It’s not your vehicle. You’ve sold your vehicle. The fine comes after, and the system’s not updated,” he told Newzroom Afrika.

“You will be picking up fines that potentially belong to other people because of cloned number plates. It is a serious problem in South Africa.”

Duvenage commented that, without necessary up-to-date safeguards in place, the AARTO system poses a significant threat to motorists’ livelihoods.

“Motorists become anxious because they are picking up demerit points that are not theirs. If you’re a driver, a sales rep, or a person who relies on vehicle transport, your jobs are then in jeopardy.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa and the government proclaimed the new traffic laws on 29 June 2026. Phase 2 of the AARTO rollout began on 1 July 2026, implementing it across 62 major municipalities.

OUTA has been one of the most prominent critics of the AARTO system, which has been in the works for years but ran into several delays.

It recently launched an urgent High Court application to suspend the AARTO rollout, claiming that the government implemented the new laws without the necessary legal safeguards required to protect motorists.

“OUTA has launched an urgent High Court application to suspend the implementation of Phase 2 of the AARTO system,” it said.

“The application asks the court to halt implementation until the government has complied with its own legal and constitutional obligations.”

One of OUTA’s main concerns is the absence of the Independent Appeals Tribunal, which is the body motorists must appeal to over infringements they disagree with.

“In simple terms, government has switched on enforcement before switching on one of the most important protections available to motorists,” OUTA executive director Advocate Stefanie Fick said.

“When government removes or limits existing remedies, it has a legal duty to ensure that the alternatives created by Parliament are available and functional. That has simply not happened.”

Other attempts to stop AARTO

OUTA is not the only entity that has attempted to stop the AARTO rollout in South Africa. The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has also voiced its concerns with the new system.

Shortly before the government made its proclamation, SALGA filed an urgent High Court application of its own, raising concerns about the financial model behind AARTO.

It said that many municipalities in South Africa are already struggling under an increasingly constrained fiscal environment, and that these issues would be exacerbated by AARTO.

“SALGA has approached the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on an urgent basis to interdict the implementation of Phase 2 of AARTO,” it said.

“The escalation follows repeated engagements with the Department of Transport and the Minister of Transport regarding the unresolved financial implications of AARTO on municipalities.”

SALGA said that the current AARTO regulations, which were published in October 2025, impose financial burdens on municipalities without providing a suitable funding model to ensure effective implementation.

“The proposed financial arrangements would result in municipalities spending more than they can earn, effectively forcing local government to subsidise the implementation of AARTO,” it said.

It warned that this would come at the expense of critical services, and that the Department of Transport had failed to provide meaningful consultation or practical solutions despite its repeated engagements.

The case was set to be heard on 30 June 2026, the day before the official rollout. However, the Pretoria High Court dismissed the application, citing a lack of urgency.

SALGA then stated that the merits of the case would be argued at a later date. SALGA chairperson of the Public Transport and Roads Working Group, Sebang Motlhabi, said the organisation was disappointed by the outcome.

“The reality of the matter is that the core issues that we wanted the court to provide relief on are still being argued. Our legal team is preparing to take the matter forward,” he said.