Concerns have been raised over whether the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (Aarto) will reduce road accidents and fatalities on South African roads.
This comes from the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA), which highlighted that the Aarto pilots in Tshwane and Johannesburg hadn’t shown any signs of improving road safety, despite being launched in July 2008.
It noted that it was not convinced a mass implementation of the system would yield any better results, as it does not address the underlying road safety challenges in South Africa.
Instead, it warned that it could exacerbate inefficiencies, unfairly burden motorists, and further erode public trust.
“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.
“Pilots conducted in Gauteng have not demonstrated a conclusive reduction in incidents and fatalities resulting from Aarto implementation.”
Along with this, it highlighted several other concerns, including its findings that 80-90% of crashes were the result of driver behaviour and that efforts to change this behaviour through punitive interventions were ineffective.
It went on to address the demerit system that Aarto plans to use, touching on the potential negative impact it could have on fleet operations.
“Under Aarto, demerit points can and may be assigned to the registered vehicle owner, potentially exposing fleet owners to penalties committed by their employees or contracted drivers,” it said.
Additionally, the demerit system threatens the livelihoods of many South African drivers who are reliant on driving to make a living.
“Suspensions without effective appeal risk the livelihood of affected drivers,” it said.
That said, it agreed that punitive measures had a role to play as a deterrent to bad driving behaviour, but that to ensure greater safety and genuine change, a more holistic approach was needed.
It noted that motorists should not view compliance as an obligation to avoid punishment but as a ‘shared social responsibility’ that improves the safety of all drivers.
“The Aarto system is likely to impose additional financial burdens on motorists from penalties to appeal fees, without clear evidence that these expenses will translate to safer roads.”
It stated that punitive measures will only be effective if a robust and credible law enforcement system with reliable infrastructure and strong public trust supports them.
“Until then, any demerit-based approach simply punishes non-compliance rather than promoting accountability and presents itself as yet another revenue generation mechanism.”
Rollout delays expected
The Department of Transport announced a postponement of the first phase of the Aarto on 10 November 2025, shifting the planned date from 1 December 2025 to 1 July 2026.
“The Department will soon publish the new proclamation with new staggered implementation dates, the 1 July 2026 being the official implementation date,” it said.
“The phased approach of implementation will still be maintained as initially envisaged.”
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) noted that this delay was not surprising, as CEO Wayne Duvenage described the system as unworkable in its current form.
“Aarto was never ready, not in 2020, not in 2024, and certainly not now,” he said.
“These repeated postponements confirm what we have been warning all along: the system is unworkable in its current form.”
This is based on Outa tracking the development of Aarto for over a decade and concluding that it was not workable.
Duvenage said Outa will support any law or system that improves road safety, but that such systems must be clear, fair, and functional.
“Aarto fails that test,” he said.
He added that the most recent regulations for Aarto had been passed through hastily and lacked sufficient public participation, which is notable as the latest version had completely rewritten regulations from those published for public comment in 2020.
The latest amendments, published on 31 October 2025, also featured several pages of illegible text in schedules covering offences, fines, and demerit points.
“Citizens cannot comply with laws they cannot read,” said Duvenage.
“That’s not enforcement; that’s confusion.”
Additionally, several municipalities have expressed a desire to withdraw from the system over concerns that it will be a bureaucratic and expensive process that won’t improve road safety.
Duvenage concluded that this postponement should be used to get Aarto right and that if the government is serious in its goals, it needs to go back to the drawing board and build a ‘transparent, practical system’ that supports law enforcement, builds trust, and genuinely saves lives.
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