The Department of Transport has postponed the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) to 1st of July 2026.
The system was due to be implemented on the 1st of next month. According to the department, the decision was taken by the Minister Barbara Creecy and her Deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
In a statement, the department said the postponement comes amid an assessment of the state of the system readiness in some of the municipalities that were to form part of the first implementation phase. The department said it has also identified some of the challenges during its assessment.
“The finalisation of training of both law enforcement and back-office personnel. The harmonisation of the current law enforcement system used by various Municipalities, and funding thereof,” read a statement from the department.
The department said it’ll soon publish the new proclamation with new implementation dates.
The system has faced several delays, including a Constitutional Court challenge by civil action group, Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, OUTA, which wanted the court to declare the AARTO legislation to be unconstitutional and invalid.
The court however dismissed OUTA’s application paving the way for the department to implement the system.
The department has implemented the system’s pilots in Johannesburg and Tshwane.
The system will involve demerit points being allocated according to the severity of infringements committed.
“Under the demerit system, vehicles are not punished by the system, but the operator/juristic person is held responsible for the use of the vehicle. Upon implementation of the demerit system, everyone will commence with zero points. If the demerit points exceed the maximum 15 points, a person, operator or juristic person who is not an operator will be disqualified from driving or using the vehicle for three months for every point exceeding the 15 points,” explained a statement from the department.
