Cybersecurity expert Anna Collard says scammers are exploiting South Africans’ growing comfort with digital messages from service providers. (Photo: Frennie Shivambu / Gallo Images) 
The second phase of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act (Aarto) will come into effect in a number of cities and municipalities on 1 December after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed it into law on Friday.
Following the roll-out, the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) will deal with more of the administration related to road traffic offences, relieving the burden on courts.
RTIA spokesperson Monde Mkalipi said the main intention of Aarto as a whole and the demerit system, in particular, was to “change the behaviour of the road users so that we can decrease the number of fatalities that occur on our roads. Forty people a day die on our roads.”
Mkalipi said the new legislation would decriminalise certain road traffic infringements.
“In terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, there are two types of infringements that occur on our roads: major offences and minor offences.
“Major offences, if people drive under the influence of alcohol on our roads, those people are still going to be subjected to the Criminal Procedure Act. If people speed excessively (40km/h or more over the speed limit) on our roads, they will be taken to court. But … minor infringements are going to be dealt with under … Aarto,” he explained.
Those infringements will be reflected in the National Contravention Register. Infringers can get a 50% discount on the fine if they pay it within 32 days. If you want to dispute an infringement, you can submit a representation.
There will also be an option to pay in instalments if the fine is above R750. If another person commits an infringement in a car registered to you, you can redirect the ticket to the responsible driver. Mkalipi said this would apply to taxi owners or other people who leased vehicles.
He said that if a driver submitted a representation to the RTIA and the RTIA refused to cancel the ticket based on the stated reasons, the driver could submit a dispute with the Aarto Appeals Tribunal.
“This is going to be a body which is going to come in as an appeal point for infringers. So, that is another level, because the option to go to court is not necessarily being dropped, but in the initial stages of the implementation of this legislation is not necessarily going to be there. But later, if you still want to go to court, you can still take your case further after you have exhausted the other platforms.”
The Act will also add to the functions of the RTIA “to repeal certain obsolete provisions, to establish and administer rehabilitation programmes, to provide for the apportionment of penalties and to provide for the establishment of the Appeals Tribunal and matters related thereto”.
Phase 2 of the roll-out will be implemented in 67 metropolitan and local municipalities, which will join the pilot metros, Johannesburg and Tshwane. The 67 municipalities include Ekurhuleni, Mbombela, Polokwane, Durban, Newcastle, Ladysmith, Bloemfontein, Gqeberha, East London, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, George and Beaufort West.
“Phase 3 will commence on 1 April 2026, expanding to 144 local municipal areas. Phase 4 will introduce the points demerit system and rehabilitation programme across South Africa,” said Mkalipi.
Points demerit system
“There’s going to be a threshold of 15 demerit points,” said Mkalipi. “So if you exceed 15 demerit points, that’s when [your] driving licence is going to be suspended. If your driving licence is suspended twice, on the third occasion you exceed the threshold of 15 demerit points, your driving licence gets taken away.
“For example, if you are driving without a safety belt, you may find that three demerit points are allocated. But if you are caught driving under the influence of alcohol and you are convicted by a court of law, there will be six demerit points. It will depend on the impact that your infringement or your violation of traffic law might have on other road users, even yourself, for that matter.
“Accumulating a certain number of points can result in penalties such as fines, licence suspension or mandatory driving courses, targeting those who repeatedly break traffic laws.
“Demerit points are assigned to various documents such as learner’s licences, driving licences, vehicle licence discs, operator cards and road transport permits. Aarto demerit points will be assigned when fines are paid, enforcement orders are issued, or upon conviction by a court, and paying the fine does not prevent the issuing of points.”
A learner driver can accumulate up to six demerit points without losing driving privileges, while a fully licensed driver can accumulate up to 15.
Points are reduced by one every three months until they reach zero.
“If the demerit points exceed the specified thresholds, the relevant document will be suspended for three months per excess point, during which driving is prohibited.
“Most documents can be suspended twice, and exceeding the threshold a third time leads to cancellation, except vehicle licence discs and operating permits. Allowing a person with a suspended licence to drive your vehicle incurs a R3,500 fine.”
Concerns
Mkalipi allayed concerns that infringement notices, courtesy letters and enforcement orders would be issued via email, SMS or WhatsApp.
He said the RTIA would issue traffic fines via traditional means, such as an officer giving you a ticket on the spot, and a notice being posted to the infringer.
“If you commit an infringement, you are caught by the camera, and then that ticket fits into the National Conservation Register. It goes to the post office, and then you are sent a note to say, 'Go and collect your ticket at the post office.' That is registered mail.”
Road users will, however, also have the option of receiving communication from the RTIA in digital form.
“Each and every road user is going to be given an option to select which form of service or document he or she prefers. If you prefer electronic service, when you update your licence disc or any form of your traffic documentation at the traffic department, you’ll be given an option to give them your postal address, your email address or any other form that you feel will be the most convenient one. So, no system, no form of saving of documents will be forced on to the road users,” said Mkalipi.
The non-profit organisation Outa took the government to court over Aarto, winning in 2022 when the law was declared unconstitutional. However, on appeal the following year, the Constitutional Court ruled that Parliament was well within its scope to implement these amendments.
Darran Ledden Attorneys explained: “Offenders will now face a structured system of fines and demerit points that can lead to temporary or even permanent revocation of their driving licence. The system has been designed to work automatically.
“Even minor traffic offences can stack up quickly, particularly if left unpaid or repeated frequently. The law also introduces much higher fine amounts for various offences and stricter procedures for resolving disputes or lodging appeals.” DM