Middelburg — The Traffic Department and the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) hosted an awareness campaign on 02 October 2025 at the Long Distance Taxi Rank.
This awareness aimed to inform motorists, especially taxi drivers and operators, about the new speed camera project and the upcoming rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system.
Hetisani Chauke, an AARTO education and awareness officer, said the purpose of the session was to prepare motorists for the national implementation of the AARTO legislation.
The system is currently only operational in Johannesburg and Tshwane, Gauteng. It will expand to 69 municipalities, including Steve Tshwete Local Municipality, before being extended nationwide to all municipalities by 01 April 2026.
“If motorists fail to pay their traffic fines, they will be blocked on the system…from renewing their driver’s licence, vehicle disc, or professional driving permit until they resolve their violations,” Chauke said, adding this will curb reckless driving and enforce road safety compliance.
One of the major changes under AARTO will be the introduction of a demerit point system, set to take effect on 01 September 2026. Every traffic violation will cost a motorist one point, deducted from a threshold of 15.
Accumulating 15 points will lead to the suspension of a driver’s licence, with repeat offenders at risk of permanently losing their licences. “This system is about changing driver behaviour and reducing road fatalities, which continue to claim countless lives every year,” he said.
Taxi owners and drivers at the session welcomed the changes. Kuki Amos Masina, a taxi owner, said he was pleased that fines would now be directed at drivers rather than vehicle owners. “Previously, we were unfairly penalised for reckless driving by our employees, but now the responsibility lies with the driver,” he said.
Taxi driver Tshepo Mathebula added that the system would improve safety on the roads. “As drivers, we spend long hours transporting people often in fear of not making it back home. This system will reduce road fatalities and that is a good thing,” he said.
