Great news for motorists with speeding fines in South Africa’s richest province

Police in Johannesburg and Pretoria cannot arrest motorists over unpaid traffic fines.

This is according to Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Xolani Fihla, who recently spoke on 947 about the increased roadblock presence on the province’s roads.

Fihla explained that the authorities have increased the number of roadblocks and traffic stops as part of a visible policing strategy to deter crime and curb illegal activities.

When asked whether officers at roadblocks could arrest motorists for unpaid fines, he said that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act doesn’t allow such arrests.

“You can’t arrest the person for any outstanding traffic fines,” he said.

He added that officers may advise or persuade motorists to pay their fines on the spot, but that they cannot compel individuals to pay.

Motorists also have the option to pay Aarto fines in instalments.

However, Fihla warned motorists to be aware of the differences between the Aarto and Criminal Procedure Act (CPA).

Under the CPA, an individual can be arrested for outstanding fines if a warrant has been issued relating to the offences.

“If it does say a warrant, then there is a possibility that you will be arrested,” Fihla said.

In Joburg, fines go through a multi-stage process that begins with an enforcement notice, followed by a courtesy letter, and ultimately an enforcement order.

Once an enforcement order is issued, motorists will be blocked from renewing their driver’s licence or vehicle licence disc until they have paid their fines.

Phase one of the Aarto is currently in effect in Johannesburg and Pretoria, which means the handling of traffic fines has been transferred from the CPA to Aarto.

The second phase will introduce a demerit system where drivers will receive points on their licence for various infringements.

Aarto was initially meant to go live in November 2025, but has since been postponed to 1 July 2026.

The Department of Transport said the delay was based on an assessment of the state of readiness of various municipalities.

Phase one was supposed to roll out to 69 of the nation’s major municipalities, while the remianing 144 areas would launch Aarto on 1 April 2026. The demerit system was then supposed to launch on 1 September.

Following the delay, the demerit system is now only expected to go live in 2027.

Aarto to be outsourced

The rollout of Aarto has been flagged by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) over the recent news that a tender was issued to outsource most of its key functions to a private contractor.

Outa said that the contract raises serious concerns about a conflict of interest, as outsourcing the management of the country’s traffic fines can easily be turned into a profit-driven enterprise.

The organisation demands to know why the government plans to outsource the operation of a system that has been in development for almost 16 years.

The tender was opened in December 2025 and was initially set to close on 3 February 2026, but this was later changed to 13 February.

Outa has formally written to Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and to the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) chair, Bonolo Ramokhele, over these concerns.

“Outa questions whether this late extension meaningfully mitigates the risks created by the original compressed timetable and warns that the process remains rushed for a procurement of this scale,” it said.

It also warned that outsourcing Aarto is likely to lead to unnecessary expenditure as many of its functions overlap with existing state entities.

“Outa is particularly concerned that the tender appears to outsource core administrative and enforcement-support functions that already exist within government,” Outa said.

“The Road Traffic Management Corporation, through the NATIS platform, already manages national traffic administration systems that interface directly with Aarto processes.”