{"id":830884,"date":"2025-07-09T17:14:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:14:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=830884"},"modified":"2025-07-09T17:16:05","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:16:05","slug":"driving-licence-demerit-system-gets-new-launch-date-for-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/motoring\/830884\/driving-licence-demerit-system-gets-new-launch-date-for-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa’s driving licence demerit system gets new launch date"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa\u2019s demerit points system for drivers will come into full effect in September 2026, following a phased rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act starting in December 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is according to Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) spokesperson Monde Mkalipi, who outlined<\/a> the agency\u2019s plan for implementing the new traffic enforcement regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first phase of the rollout begins on 1 December 2025, when AARTO will be introduced in 69 municipalities, including major metros like Cape Town and Johannesburg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of the metros are included as part of the initial rollout,\u201d said Mkalipi. The agency will expand coverage in two additional waves, one in February and another in April 2026, to include the remaining municipalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The RTIA and the Department of Transport believe the AARTO system is necessary to tackle the human behaviours behind most road crashes in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cResearch has shown that more than 80% of road crashes are due to human error and thus call for behaviour-changing efforts on our part,\u201d said the Deputy Minister of Transport, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, in his budget vote speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He described AARTO as central to the demerit system that systematically aims to contain road user behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the AARTO rollout begins in December 2025, the points demerit system, often seen as the heart of the reform, will only be activated from 1 September 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This system will allocate demerit points for traffic infringements, leading to licence suspensions or cancellations if drivers accumulate too many points. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learner drivers can only accumulate up to six points before facing a three-month suspension, while fully licensed drivers face suspension at fifteen points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From December 2025, drivers will initially engage with AARTO\u2019s \u201celective options,\u201d previously tested in Johannesburg and Tshwane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you receive a traffic infringement, you\u2019ll be expected to resolve it within 32 days and can benefit from a 50% discount,\u201d Mkalipi explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who miss the 32-day deadline, alternatives include submitting a representation to dispute the fine, nominating another driver, redirecting the infringement, or paying in instalments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese five elective options are key features of the system. We will explain these to road users so they know exactly how to respond to infringements,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AARTO rollout impractical <\/h2>\n\n\n
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Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) spokesperson Monde Mkalipi<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Mkalipi warned that non-compliance will carry serious consequences. \u201cIf you violate traffic laws and don\u2019t act, your driving licence or vehicle licence disc may be blocked from being renewed,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes holders of public driving permits, who will also need to act quickly to avoid penalties. A key objective of the new system is to bring consistency across the country\u2019s fragmented traffic enforcement landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCurrently, the system is fragmented. Cape Town has its own bylaws, which might differ from those of Johannesburg or Tshwane. AARTO brings uniformity,\u201d Mkalipi explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system will also digitise traffic law enforcement to combat corruption. \u201cCurrently, most parts of the country use handwritten infringement notices,\u201d Mkalipi said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith AARTO, we are moving to electronic devices. When a violation is captured, it is immediately loaded onto a handheld gadget and fed into the system. This will reduce human interference and help eliminate bribery.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some municipalities have already begun piloting these systems, and RTIA hopes to phase out paper-based fines entirely. Infringements will eventually be delivered via email and other electronic channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the government has promoted AARTO as a game-changer, some civil society groups are not convinced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has previously raised serious concerns<\/a>, calling the rollout impractical and an administrative burden.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt does not address the root causes of accidents, the risk of corruption, and administrative cumbersomeness,\u201d OUTA said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Municipal buy-in is another major challenge. OUTA questioned whether all 245 municipalities and seven metros could realistically be ready for AARTO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Automobile Association (AA) echoed these concerns. \u201cWe stand by our previous views that the AARTO legislation is geared towards revenue collection and not on promoting safer roads,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIntroducing legislation will not solve the country\u2019s road safety crisis. This merely creates an impression of action while nothing will change on the ground.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AA further noted that there\u2019s no evidence the AARTO pilot in Johannesburg and Tshwane saved any lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these criticisms, Mkalipi said the RTIA is committed to public education and ensuring the system brings real safety benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are hoping that, with the new system, we can reduce fatalities and promote accountability on the roads,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) has outlined the dates for implementing the new traffic enforcement regime in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":830961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11119],"tags":[23078,853,23077,22223],"class_list":["post-830884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motoring","tag-road-traffic-infringement-agency-rtia","tag-south-africa","tag-the-administrative-adjudication-of-road-traffic-offences-aarto-act","tag-the-department-of-transport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830884"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":831011,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830884\/revisions\/831011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}