Motorists travelling through eight Mpumalanga municipal areas now face a tougher traffic enforcement regime which provincial authorities say could ultimately prevent defaulters from renewing driving and vehicle licences.
The Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison announced on Friday that the eight municipalities had started implementing the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) from July 1.
The announcement comes as Mpumalanga continues battling deadly crashes on major provincial and national routes, with recent road safety statistics showing hundreds of people dying annually on the province’s roads.
According to the department, AARTO is now being implemented in the City of Mbombela, Nkomazi, Thaba Chweu, Steve Tshwete, Emalahleni, Thembisile Hani, Govan Mbeki and Lekwa municipal areas.
The department said the change meant provincial and municipal traffic authorities operating in those areas would no longer issue Section 56 or Section 341 notices under the Criminal Procedure Act for new infringements.
“Only infringement notices issued in terms of AARTO will be used,” the department said.
Read: Driving safely will protect your purse under Aarto
However, it warned motorists that traffic notices issued under the Criminal Procedure Act before July 1 had not simply disappeared.
Motorists remain responsible for settling those outstanding notices, the department said.
Under the process outlined by the department, a motorist receiving an AARTO infringement notice has 32 days to respond.
The department said motorists who pay within that period qualify for a 50% reduction in the penalty.
Alternatively, motorists may nominate the person who was driving the vehicle when the infringement occurred, while those facing penalties of R750 or more may apply to pay in instalments.
Motorists disputing an infringement may also follow the available adjudication process.
According to the department, motorists who fail to respond within the initial 32 days will receive a courtesy letter, lose the 50% discount and incur additional administrative fees.
They would then receive another 32 days to act before an enforcement order could be issued.
The department warned that motorists who ultimately failed to settle infringement penalties within the prescribed process could face consequences at licensing offices.
Motorists who fail to settle infringement penalties within the prescribed period will not be allowed to renew their driving licences, motor vehicle licences, or register any new vehicles.
Mpumalanga authorities hope the tougher administrative enforcement system will strengthen compliance in a province where road deaths remain a persistent problem.
National and provincial road-safety statistics have repeatedly placed a heavy human cost on crashes in Mpumalanga.
According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s 2024 State of Road Safety report, Mpumalanga accounted for 9.6% of South Africa’s road fatalities during 2024. The RTMC nevertheless recorded a 1.18% reduction in provincial fatalities compared with 2023.
The national Department of Transport subsequently reported that 143 people died in 118 fatal crashes in Mpumalanga during the 2024/25 festive season.
Mpumalanga was then hit by a reversal over Easter 2025.
The RTMC’s Easter 2025 State of Road Safety report recorded 30 deaths in the province, compared with 22 during Easter 2024 — an increase of about 36%.
The provincial government reported another worrying picture during the 2025/26 festive period.
Read: Road safety concerns rise as millions return from Easter break
According to figures released by the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, 733 crashes were recorded between December 1 and January 11, including 129 fatal crashes.
The department said 172 people were killed during the period, compared with 143 during the previous festive season. Another 379 people sustained serious injuries while 842 suffered slight injuries.
Provincial authorities have repeatedly blamed human behaviour for much of the bloodshed.
Figures released by the provincial government showed another 75 people were killed on Mpumalanga roads between April 1 and May 31 this year.
Of those, the government said 61 were men, including 24 drivers, 17 passengers and 20 pedestrians.
Community Safety MEC Jackie Macie responded to those figures by urging motorists, particularly men, to change their behaviour behind the wheel.
“Men should help save lives on the road by obeying the rules, sticking to the applicable speed limits and not drinking and driving,” Macie said.
The province has also experienced several multiple-fatality crashes this year.
The provincial government reported that six people were killed when two light delivery vehicles collided head-on on the R542 between Van Dyk’s Drift and Blinkpan near Middelburg on June 5. Four other people were seriously injured.
According to the Community Safety Department, Mpumalanga’s eight municipalities form part of Phase 2 of AARTO’s national rollout involving 62 municipalities.
The department said the system was being expanded following its pilot implementation in Johannesburg and Tshwane.
For motorists, provincial authorities are effectively attaching a new warning to traffic infringements: ignoring a notice may no longer end with an unpaid fine gathering dust.
If the AARTO process reaches the enforcement-order stage, the department says motorists could eventually discover the consequences when they attempt to renew their licences.
- Mpumalanga's eight municipalities began implementing the AARTO system on July 1, replacing Section 56 and Section 341 Criminal Procedure Act notices for traffic infringements.
- Motorists have 32 days to respond to an AARTO infringement notice, with a 50% penalty reduction if paid within this period, and failure to settle fines may result in licence renewal denials.
- The province recorded 172 road fatalities between December 1 and January 11 during the 2025/26 festive season, an increase from 143 the previous year.
- Between April 1 and May 31, 2024, 75 people died on Mpumalanga roads, with 61 being men, including drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
- Mpumalanga's AARTO rollout is part of Phase 2 of a national expansion involving 62 municipalities, following pilots in Johannesburg and Tshwane.
Motorists travelling through eight
"Only infringement notices issued in terms of AARTO will be used," the department said.
Read:
However, it warned motorists that traffic notices issued under the Criminal Procedure Act before July 1 had not simply disappeared.
Motorists remain responsible for settling those outstanding notices, the department said.
Alternatively, motorists may nominate the person who was driving the vehicle when the infringement occurred, while those facing penalties of R750 or more may apply to pay in instalments.
Motorists disputing an infringement may also follow the available adjudication process.
Motorists who fail to settle infringement penalties within the prescribed period will not be allowed to renew their driving licences, motor vehicle licences, or register any new vehicles.
National and provincial road-safety statistics have repeatedly placed a heavy human cost on crashes in
Read: Road safety concerns rise as millions return from Easter break
Provincial authorities have repeatedly blamed human behaviour for much of the bloodshed.
Figures released by the provincial government showed another 75 people were killed on
Of those, the government said 61 were men, including 24 drivers, 17 passengers and 20 pedestrians.
Community Safety MEC Jackie Macie responded to those figures by urging motorists, particularly men, to change their behaviour behind the wheel.
"Men should help save lives on the road by obeying the rules, sticking to the applicable speed limits and not drinking and driving," Macie said.
For motorists, provincial authorities are effectively attaching a new warning to traffic infringements: ignoring a notice may no longer end with an unpaid fine gathering dust.
If the AARTO process reaches the enforcement-order stage, the department says motorists could eventually discover the consequences when they attempt to renew their licences.
