The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) welcomes government’s recognition that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system is not ready for implementation, following Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy’s announcement that the rollout will be postponed to July 2026.
“This delay was inevitable,” says OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage. “AARTO was never ready, not in 2020, not in 2024, and certainly not now. These repeated postponements confirm what we have warned all along: the system is unworkable in its current form.”
OUTA has tracked AARTO’s development for over a decade, consistently raising concerns about its practicality, transparency, and alignment with the principles of fair administration.
“We support any system that improves road safety and encourages motorists to obey the law,” says Duvenage. “But regulation must be clear, fair, and functional. AARTO fails that test.”
He adds that the latest regulations, rushed through without proper public participation, have only deepened concerns. The new version represents a complete rewrite of the regulations, first published for public comment in 2020, far beyond the usual refinements that follow public input. To make matters worse, the most recent amendments, published in the Government Gazette of 31 October 2025, include pages of unreadable text in the very schedules that list offences, fines, and demerit points. “Citizens cannot comply with laws they cannot read,” Duvenage notes. “That’s not enforcement; that’s confusion.”
Several municipalities have already indicated they wish to withdraw from the system. “They can see the risks – a bureaucratic and costly process that won’t make our roads safer but will frustrate law-abiding motorists and strain local resources,” says Duvenage.
“This postponement should be used to get AARTO right,” Duvenage concludes. “If government is serious about road safety, it must return to the drawing board, build a transparent, practical system that supports enforcement, earns public trust, and genuinely saves lives.”
OUTA will continue to monitor developments and challenge any process that undermines citizens’ rights or good governance.
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Fun South African Fact: The meandering 850km road through Cape Winelands is the world’s longest wine route.
Mr. Alien
Van der Merwe is approached by SANRAL one day who want to build a new highway through his donkey farm. Van is really concerned with how his donkeys can get from one side of the farm to the other without having to cross the highway and risk being injured or killed. He is promised that they will build bridges the highway so that his donkeys can cross under the highway. Van agrees and gives them the go-ahead.
The highway is built and a year later the same rep goes to the farm to go see how Van and his donkeys are. He eventually finds Van under one of these bridges chipping away at the roof of the tunnel with a hammer and chisel.
\”Mnr Van de Merwe, what are you doing damaging the highway bridge?\”