Warning: These are the AARTO offences that will land you in court

The list of more stringent AARTO offences was upheld in the Constitutional Court on Wednesday 12 July 2023, paving the way for their implementation on 1 July 2024.

ALSO READ: City of Cape Town turns its zero-tolerance approach onto motorists

Besides the driver demerit system which will see driver’s licenses suspended should you accrue 15-points-worth of AARTO offences, there are a host of infringements that will land you in court.

UPDATED LIST OF AARTO OFFENCES

There are currently 2 659 offences listed on the AARTO website, including their fines and associated demerit points. There are 22 AARTO offences that will land you straight in court. You can find a full list of all AARTO offences below broken down into each category:

SPEEDING FINES
RULES OF THE ROAD
LICENSE VIOLATIONS
ROADWORTHINESS
PARKING VIOLATIONS
RECKLESS AND NEGLIGENT DRIVING

As a reminder, under the new AARTO offences list, your driver’s license can only be suspended twice before it is taken away permanently. Each suspension means having to retake a driver’s/learner’s qualification test from scratch.

AARTO OFFENCES THAT WILL LAND YOU IN COURT

Violation	Fine	Points
Motor vehicle displaying no number plates	Court	6
Motor vehicle with plates not applicable	Court	6
Motor vehicle with both plates obscured or illegible	Court	6
Motor vehicle does not have an engine number	Court	6
Display temporary or special permit not applicable to motor vehicle	Court	6
Vehicle operator not registered	Court	6
Exceeding the permissible maximum mass load by 13,99%	Court	6
Total vehicle mass exceeds 5 times the mass on driven axle by 13,99%	Court	6
Mass on the steering axle of articulated vehicle is less than 4% of total mass	Court	6
Mass on the steering axle of rigid vehicle is less than 7% of total mass	Court	6
Load on one side of axle exceeds that on the other by above 30%	Court	6
Exceeding the speed limit by above 40 km/h	Court	6
Failing to stop at an accident to ascertain injuries and assist	Court	6
Reckless driving	Court	6
Driving under the influence	Court	6
Blood alcohol level for ordinary motorist not less than 0,05 g per 100 m	Court	6
Blood alcohol level for PrDP driver not less than 0,02 g per 100 ml	Court	6
Breath alcohol level for ordinary motorist not less than 0,24 mg per 1 000 ml	Court	6
Breath alcohol level for PrDP driver not less than 0,10 mg per 1 000 ml	Court	6
Unauthorised tampering with vehicle	Court	6
Furnishing false information	Court	6
False number plate	Court	6

CHECK YOUR FINES

AARTO says it is important to keep abridged of your fine status. You can check notices of any AARTO offences issued against you by visiting the aarto.gov.za website.

• Click on “query my fine”.
• Provide your ID number and driving license number.
• Juristic entities can provide their business register number and the ID number of a proxy.

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