Traffic & AARTO

Almost everything that goes wrong with a traffic fine goes wrong because the driver did not work out which kind of notice they were holding. South Africa runs two separate systems for road traffic offences at the same time, and they have different deadlines, different ways of objecting and different consequences. Get that one question right and most of the rest becomes manageable. Get it wrong and you can spend months arguing with the wrong office while a court date passes.

What this area of law covers

The first system is the ordinary criminal one. A traffic offence is prosecuted under the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 in a magistrate's court, in the same way as any other minor offence. You get a written notice or a summons, it names a court and a date, the prosecutor deals with it, and if you ignore it the court can issue a warrant for your arrest. Serious matters such as drunk driving and reckless driving live here, and a conviction gives you a criminal record.

The second system is administrative. The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act 46 of 1998, which everybody calls AARTO, takes minor infringements out of the courts and hands them to the Road Traffic Infringement Agency, known as the RTIA. Instead of a prosecutor you deal with an agency, instead of a defence you make written representations, and instead of a court order the agency can issue an enforcement order that blocks your licence and vehicle transactions.

AARTO also provides for a demerit points system, under which points attach to infringements and a driver can eventually be suspended. Do not assume that demerit points are in force where you are. The roll-out of AARTO has been phased and has been postponed more than once, and which parts of the Act apply in which municipalities has changed over time. Confirm the current position with the Road Traffic Infringement Agency before you act on anything you have read about points, including anything on this site.

So the practical first question is: which notice is in your hand? An AARTO infringement notice says AARTO on it, gives an infringement notice number, names the Road Traffic Infringement Agency and offers you options that include making representations. A Criminal Procedure Act notice or summons names a magistrate's court and, sooner or later, a date on which you must appear. Read the paper before you read anything else.

Where to start, by problem

• You want to know what AARTO actually is and whether it applies to you. Read what is AARTO and how does it work. Start here if you are unsure which system you are in.
• You think the fine is wrong. Read how to dispute a traffic fine in South Africa. The route differs depending on the notice.
• You have been ignoring fines. Read what happens if you ignore a traffic fine.
• You want to know whether an old fine is still enforceable. Read do traffic fines expire in South Africa.
• You have heard there is a warrant out for you. Read how to get a traffic warrant of arrest cancelled and can you be arrested for unpaid traffic fines.
• The fine is on your car but somebody else was driving. Read how to nominate the driver of a fined vehicle. This matters for company cars and shared households.
• An enforcement order has been issued against you. Read what is an enforcement order under AARTO.
• You want to understand the points system. Read how do demerit points work in South Africa, and treat the position on when and where points apply as something to confirm with the RTIA.
• You have been stopped for drinking and driving. Read what happens if you are caught drinking and driving. This is a criminal charge, not an infringement.
• You are charged with reckless or negligent driving. Read what is reckless and negligent driving.
• Your car has been towed or impounded. Read what to do if your car is impounded. Storage fees run daily, so this is urgent.
• Your licence has expired. Read what happens if your driver's licence expires.
• You hold a licence from another country. Read can I drive in South Africa on a foreign licence.
• You have just had an accident. Read what must you do after a car accident in South Africa. Reporting it is a legal duty and it also protects any later claim.

The deadlines that catch people out

The period printed on the notice. Every AARTO infringement notice states the options open to you and the date each one closes, including the early payment discount. Those periods have been amended over the years, so work from the notice in your hand and from the RTIA, not from what a colleague remembers.

The moment the discount falls away. Paying late means paying the full amount. This is the cheapest deadline to meet and the one most often missed.

The court date on a summons. A summons under the Criminal Procedure Act names a court and a date. Not appearing means a warrant for your arrest and a separate charge for failing to appear. If you cannot attend, send somebody to court before the date passes.

The enforcement order stage. Once the AARTO process reaches an enforcement order, the licence and registration blocks that follow can stop you from renewing a licence disc or transferring a vehicle. Undoing it is slower and more paperwork than dealing with the original notice would have been.

Licence renewal. You may not drive on an expired licence. The renewal window and any concession for a licence that has already expired are set by regulation and have been changed more than once, so confirm the current position at a driving licence testing centre before you drive.

Impound storage. Storage and towing charges usually accrue per day. Every day you wait is money.

What it costs, and what is free

Most traffic matters cost you nothing but time. The full picture, including when paying an attorney actually makes sense, is on what does a traffic matter cost.

Free routes exist and are underused. Making representations to the Road Traffic Infringement Agency costs nothing and you do it yourself. Nominating the actual driver of a fined vehicle costs nothing beyond the commissioning of an affidavit, which the police do free of charge. Going to the prosecutor at the court named on a summons and asking to make representations before the trial date costs nothing. Checking your own outstanding fines through the official channels costs nothing.

Be careful with fine reduction companies. Some do useful work. Others charge a percentage of a discount you could have obtained yourself by walking into the same office. Ask exactly what they will do and what happens if it fails. If you are facing a drunk driving or reckless driving charge and cannot afford an attorney, check Legal Aid South Africa, because that is a criminal matter.

The mistakes that cost the most

• Treating a summons as if it were a fine. A summons is the start of a criminal case. Ignoring it produces a warrant, not a bigger fine.
• Paying a fine you actually wanted to contest. Payment is usually treated as an admission and closes the door on the dispute.
• Letting fines pile up unopened. Small amounts become warrants, blocked licence renewals and an arrest at a roadblock on the way to work.
• Not updating your address. Notices go to the address on the vehicle and licence records. If it is old, you never see the notice and the process continues without you.
• Not nominating the real driver in time. Once the window closes, the fine sticks to the registered owner, and for a company that can mean many fines at once.
• Talking your way through a drunk driving stop. It is a criminal charge with a criminal record attached. Say as little as possible and get advice.
• Assuming an old fine has quietly died. Some do lapse and some become warrants. Check rather than hope.

The tools on this site that help here

• The representations to the RTIA template gives you the structure and the facts an AARTO representation needs, which is the free route most drivers never use.
• The driver nomination affidavit is the sworn statement you use to move a fine from the registered owner to the person who was actually driving.
• The expungement eligibility calculator matters after a drunk driving or reckless driving conviction, because that leaves a criminal record and a record can generally be expunged 10 years after conviction.
• The full set of calculators covers the civil side if the same incident also left you with a damages claim.

When you need an attorney

Deal with an ordinary fine yourself. Get an attorney when you are charged with drunk driving, reckless driving, or any offence arising from an accident in which somebody was injured or killed, because those are criminal charges that can end in a criminal record or imprisonment. Get one when you are arrested at a roadblock on an old warrant and need to be brought before a court. Get one when a fleet or a business is facing enforcement orders across many vehicles. Get one when you hold a professional driving permit or drive for a living, because a conviction or a suspension takes your income with it. And get one when a licence suspension is threatened and you need to challenge the process behind it.

LawMatch is not a law firm. Everything here is general information about South African law, not legal advice on your matter, and the status of the AARTO roll-out in particular should always be confirmed with the Road Traffic Infringement Agency.