How South Africa’s new driving demerit system will work

The Constitutional Court has declared that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act is valid and constitutional, paving the way for the system to be rolled out nationally.

Despite the public backlash and many criticisms of the laws, the Department of Transport welcomed the clarity provided by the apex court and said it would move “with speed” to roll the system out.

“The implementation of this law across the country has been pending for 25 years, with pilots in place in the Cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane.

“With this judgement having cleared the path for the implementation of Aarti, we will move with speed to roll out its implementation across the country without delay,” it said.

The department said that, in the coming days, it will ensure that the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) mobilises the necessary capacity and proceeds with its rollout plans across all municipalities in the country.

“We are also ready to finalise our recommendations to the President for the appointment of the Tribunal and the proclamation of the Aarto Act implementation as well as the Aarto Amendment Act,” it said.

One of the key measures – and biggest points of contention – of the laws is the driving demerit system.

The department said it would “equally move with speed” to implement this point-based system, which is “an important cornerstone of the Aarto Act intended to drive motorist behaviour on our roads”.

How demerit points will work 

The Aarto Act provides for a system whereby a person, operator or company (juristic person) pays the penalty and incurs points when a traffic infringement is committed.

The demerit points are allocated to the operators and owners of motor vehicles. If a vehicle is suspended, it may not be sold or used on a public road.

If an operator or juristic person does sell a vehicle or scrap or export such vehicle, the demerit points will remain against the record of the operator/juristic person and be allocated to the next vehicle the company purchases.

However, vehicles are not punished by the system – only the driver/juristic person is held responsible for the use of the vehicle.

The points will work as follows:

• The offender/infringer receives a penalty, and in addition to the penalty, they also receive the demerit points allocated to the specific infringement or offence.

• If the demerit points exceed the maximum points (amended to 15 points), a person will be disqualified from driving or using the vehicle for a period of time (three months for every point exceeding 15 points);

• The points for the offences and infringements range between six and one;

• The maximum for a person or operator card or a licence disc for a juristic person who is not an operator is 15 points;

• The maximum for a learner driver is six points;

• The time value of each point is three months for disqualification or reduction purposes;

• If demerit points are allocated to a person or vehicle record, and no further demerit points are accrued in three months after receiving the previous demerit point, a reduction of one point on the total number of demerit points will be recorded on the system.

• A person’s driving licence card and the operator card of a motor vehicle must be handed in for the disqualification period;

• Upon a third disqualification, the licences will be cancelled. A person must apply for a new learner’s licence and driving licence once the disqualification period is over.

‘Juristic person’

Provisions for a ‘juristic person’ who is not an operator were added to the draft Aarto in 2019.

The term refers to companies, close corporations, trusts, etc. that have motor vehicles that are licensed in the juristic person’s name but do not require operator cards.

Typically pool vehicles, delivery vehicles, and vehicles of representatives fall within this category.

Subject to the above, the licence disc of these vehicles will be suspended if the vehicle accrues more than 15 demerit points.

Read: Pushback against Australian-like driving rules in South Africa