KwaDukuza is now officially part of the new road traffic offence system that will eventually introduce demerit points for motorists, although it remains unclear when it will take effect.

The municipality was one of 60 across the country added to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act on July 1. Although Aarto has been operating in Gauteng for several years, government has recently accelerated its nationwide rollout. The Western Cape is the only province with no participating municipalities.

The July 1 expansion followed the dismissal of a legal challenge by the South African Local Government Association (Salga) in the Pretoria High Court. Salga argued that the system would be costly to implement and that municipalities required further consultation.

KwaDukuza Municipality did not respond to repeated queries on whether it is ready to implement Aarto or when the system is expected to become operational.

Fifteen demerit points and you’re off the road

The Aarto regulations introduce a demerit points system under which traffic infringements are recorded against a driver’s licence.

Penalties range from one point for minor offences to six points for serious infringements, including excessive speeding and driving under the influence. The gazetted schedule of offences and corresponding demerit points runs to more than 400 pages.

Drivers who accumulate more than 15 demerit points will have their licences suspended.

Points are reduced over time, with one point removed for every three months in which no further infringements are committed. A rehabilitation programme will also allow motorists to remove up to four demerit points.

Motorists who exceed the 15-point limit on three separate occasions face the cancellation of their driver’s licences.

No official date has been announced for the introduction of the Aarto demerit points system.