The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act is expected to roll out across South Africa in a matter of weeks.
Aarto faced several legal challenges, but the Constitutional Court ruled in July 2023 that the Act is valid and lawful.
Aarto has been tested in Johannesburg and Tshwane, two of South Africa’s 257 municipalities, and is expected to be rolled out to the rest of the country from 1 July 2024.
Aarto is meant to disincentivise illegal driving behaviour through a demerit system that can ultimately result in a suspended licence.
Under Aarto, every licence holder will start with 0 demerit points and the maximum permissible number of points is 15. These points will accumulate upon committing a traffic violation and will be recorded against the licence of the driver or vehicle.
Licensed drivers need 15 points for a suspension of their driving licence. During a suspension, you cannot apply for a driving licence, professional driving permit, motor vehicle licence disc, operator card or any other permit.
Learner drivers only need six points for suspension. Learner drivers will receive five demerits for driving without a fully licensed driver, bringing them very close to their suspension threshold.
The most demerits a driver can accumulate through a single offence is six when the offence is deemed a criminal offence. Such offences include not being licensed to drive the class of vehicle or driving under the influence of alcohol. A person charged with a criminal traffic offence could be convicted.
For every three months that pass, one demerit point gets reduced until the points are on or below the set threshold, provided you don’t commit further violations.
For example, as shown in the table below, someone operating a vehicle on a public road with an expired licence will receive three demerits and a R2,000 fine.
The Aarto system also incentivises drivers to pay these fines by receiving a discount of 50%, should they pay within 32 days after receiving an infringement notice.
The table below summarises some of the possible about 2,000 infringements/offences under Aarto, ranked from those with the highest demerit points to the lowest.
| General road law infringements / violations | ||||
| Offence | Demerit points | |||
| Driver is unlicenced to drive class of vehicle | Criminal offence | 6 | ||
| Failed to licence vehicle | Criminal offence | 6 | ||
| Failure to stop vehicle on the command of a traffic officer | Criminal offence | 6 | ||
| Reckless or negligent driving/Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol | Criminal offence | 6 | ||
| Infringement | Fine amount | Demerit points | ||
| Driving a vehicle with a learner’s licence with no licensed driver in the car | R3,500 | 5 | ||
| Removed or altered components of vehicle affecting its roadworthiness | R3,500 | 5 | ||
| Operated a vehicle with a brake that is not in good working order | R3,500 | 5 | ||
| Operated a vehicle on a public road with expired licence | R2,000 | 3 | ||
| Operated a vehicle on a public road without a licence | R2,000 | 3 | ||
| Operated a vehicle between sunset and sunrise or during unfavourable visibility conditions without lamps | R1,500 | 2 | ||
| Failed to stop behind the line at a stop street | R1,500 | 2 | ||
| Failed to obey stop sign | R1,500 | 2 | ||
| Skipped a red traffic light | R1,500 | 2 | ||
| Failed to obey directions at a four-way stop sign | R1,500 | 2 | ||
| Failed to proceed when a traffic light was green | R1,000 | 1 | ||
| Driver did not ensure that all passengers were wearing seatbelts | R1,500 | 1 | ||
| Operated a vehicle with a damaged lamp | R1,000 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle not fitted with seatbelts correctly | R1,000 | 1 | ||
| Seatbelts not working properly | R500 | 1 | ||
| Failed to obey yield sign | R1,000 | 1 | ||
| Failed to comply with directions of a road traffic sign by not maintaining or exceeding the specified speed limit | R1,000 | 1 | ||
| Failed to comply with directions of a road traffic sign by not passing on the left-hand side | R500 | 1 | ||
| Stop lamp not emitting a red light when in use | R1,000 | 1 | ||
| Speeding violations | ||||
40km/h zone 60km/h zone 80km/h zone 100km/h zone 120km/h zone Fine amount
Demerit
points
| 1 | 56-60km/h | 76-80km/h | 96-100km/h | 116-120km/h | 136-140km/h | R500 | |
| 2 | 61-65km/h | 81-85km/h | 101-105km/h | 121-125km/h | 141-145km/h | R750 | |
| 3 | 66-70km/h | 86-90km/h | 106-110km/h | 126-130km/h | 146-150km/h | R1,000 | |
| 4 | 71-75km/h | 91-95km/h | 111-115km/h | 131-135km/h | 151-155km/h | R1,250 | |
| 5 | 76-80km/h | 96-100km/h | 116-120km/h | 136-140km/h | 156-160km/h | R1,500 | |
| 6 | 80+ | 100+ | 120+ | 140+ | 160+ | Criminal offence |