Traffic and Driving Laws in South Africa

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, consult an attorney, or contact Legal Aid South Africa (0800 110 110) if you cannot afford one. Information last verified on 23 July 2026.

South Africa currently runs two different systems for handling traffic offences, and the AARTO rollout has caused genuine confusion about what is actually in force. This section sets out, with dates attached, how each system works, what the drink driving limits are, and exactly where the AARTO demerit points system currently stands.

Two Systems for Traffic Fines

In 62 municipalities, a traffic infringement is processed under the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act 46 of 1998 (AARTO), an administrative system with its own notices, discounts, and appeal process. AARTO Phase 2 brought this system into effect in those 62 municipalities from 1 July 2026, building on the Johannesburg and Tshwane pilot that had run since 2008. No Western Cape municipality is currently included.

Everywhere else in the country, including the whole of the Western Cape, traffic fines are still processed under the ordinary Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977: a written notice under section 341, or a summons to a Magistrates' Court under section 56 for more serious matters. Fines already issued under the CPA before a municipality moves onto AARTO are not converted; they continue under CPA processing until finalised. For a full comparison of both systems and how to check or pay a fine, see How Traffic Fines Work in South Africa: AARTO vs the CPA.

AARTO's Rollout and Demerit Points, in Brief

AARTO's constitutionality was unanimously upheld by the Constitutional Court on 12 July 2023, in Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse v Minister of Transport [2023] ZACC 24, reversing a January 2022 Pretoria High Court ruling that had declared the AARTO Act and its 2019 Amendment Act unconstitutional. Since then, the rollout has moved in stages, and a widely reported 1 September 2026 start date for demerit points, which traced to a 2025 proclamation bringing further sections of the Act into operation in specific municipal areas, was withdrawn on 28 November 2025.

As of July 2026, AARTO's administrative machinery, meaning infringement notices, courtesy letters, and enforcement orders, is live in the 62 municipalities described above. The demerit points system itself (sections 24 to 28 of the AARTO Act) has not commenced anywhere, including in Johannesburg and Tshwane, and current guidance from the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) points to a later phase now expected in 2027, with no confirmed date. For the full saga and how the points system is set up to work once it does start, see AARTO and the Demerit Points System: What Is Actually in Force.

Drink Driving Limits

The National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 sets the alcohol limits that apply nationwide, whether the matter is processed under AARTO or the CPA. Under section 65, it is an offence to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres or more (0.02 grams per 100 millilitres for a professional driver), or a breath alcohol concentration of 0.24 milligrams per 1,000 millilitres or more (0.10 milligrams per 1,000 millilitres for a professional driver). Drink driving is prosecuted as a criminal offence under the CPA, not as an AARTO administrative infringement, so none of AARTO's discount or instalment options apply to it.

If You Have Received a Fine

What you can do about a fine, and what happens if you ignore it, depends on which system applies to it. If you have received an AARTO infringement notice, see Got an AARTO Fine? Your Options Explained for the discount, instalment, representation, and Appeals Tribunal routes. For the wider picture of South African law, including labour, criminal records, and privacy, see South Africa Laws.

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