Plans to stop South Africa’s new speeding fine laws shot down

The South African Post Office (SAPO) claims that it helped to shut down two legal attempts to stop the rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act.

The AARTO Act has been in the pipeline for years and was officially implemented across 62 of the nation’s largest municipalities on 1 July 2026.

However, multiple industry stakeholders and civil action groups have raised concerns about the new laws, which make sweeping changes to the way traffic offences are handled.

The Post Office’s latest business rescue update noted that “there have been attempts to stop the implementation of AARTO, which is a revenue-generation project for SAPO.”

It explained that SAPO and other stakeholders first stood against a legal challenge issued by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).

SALGA’s application pointed to municipal concerns with the financial model underpinning AARTO, and requested for the court to interdict the rollout.

Municipalities are one of the stakeholders most affected by AARTO because, under the new system, the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) receives a 50% cut of all fines, meaning the municipalities will lose out on a significant portion of their revenue.

However, the High Court dismissed SALGA’s application based on a lack of urgency. The association confirmed soon after that it would continue to pursue the matter.

“SAPO has subsequently been advised of a further application instituted by other parties. This application was also successfully defended,” said the Post Office’s business rescue practitioners (BRPs).

The Post Office is the official distributor of registered email AARTO infringements. However, this appointment has been heavily scrutinised, given the service’s poor performance record, reported MyBroadband.

The BRP said that SAPO had achieved an 80% overall service-level agreement (SLA) performance in its AARTO duties as of 31 August 2026.

“A number of municipalities have yet to conclude their respective SLAs. Engagements have continued with Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) and SAPO executives,” said the BRPs.

“Letters from the Minister’s Office have also been signed and addressed to the mayors of the outstanding municipalities.”

The BRPs said the letters urged municipal participation and sought to expedite the outstanding decisions and the conclusion of SLAs.

“As South Africa’s designated postal operator under the Universal Postal Union framework, SAPO will provide the electronic distribution of legally served AARTO notices,” it said.

“Using electronic communication channels, including SMS and email, motorists will receive secure, legally served notices with improved speed, efficiency, and traceability.”

Red flags over Post Office handling traffic fines in South Africa

SAPO’s appointment to manage the distribution of AARTO notices was flagged by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), which questioned the entity’s ability to do so.

“OUTA remains concerned about the implementation of AARTO, including the service of notices, given the current condition of the South African Post Office,” it said.

While the organisation acknowledged that electronic services may address the practical challenges of physical mail, it remains sceptical about SAPO’s reliability, legal compliance, proof of service, and data accuracy.

Importantly, traffic notices must be issued in a timely manner, as motorists must be afforded a right to respond within the prescribed timeframe.

OUTA noted that the RTIA and Department of Transport have yet to confirm the operational readiness of an electronic delivery system for these notices, leaving concerns about the issuing of traffic fines unaddressed.