How fast can you drive without a fine in South Africa? – Motorists often wonder how much over the speed limit they can drive before being fined. Under the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act, drivers are granted a small margin of tolerance. This leeway, typically 10km/h, exists to account for differences in vehicle speedometers and to prevent the justice system from being overwhelmed with minor cases.
This means that if you drive 10km/h over the limit, you will not receive a fine. However, once you exceed the limit by 11km/h or more, you enter the penalty zone. It’s important to note that this tolerance does not apply to average speed-over-distance cameras, where every kilometre per hour over the limit counts.
How Fast Can You Drive Without a Fine?
When Aarto is fully implemented, drivers won’t just face fines for speeding but will also accumulate demerit points. These points stack up, and if a driver reaches 15 points, their licence will be suspended.
The system is designed so that minor infringements do not immediately put motorists at risk of suspension, thanks to the 10km/h grace. But once over that threshold, penalties increase steadily with each speed bracket.
The Cost of Speeding: Fines and Points
Aarto breaks speeding penalties into two-kilometre-per-hour brackets, with both the fine and the demerit points increasing progressively.
- On highways, if you drive 11–12km/h over the limit, you’ll pay R400 and receive one demerit point.
- At 13–14km/h over, the fine rises to R600 while still adding one point.
- From 15–16km/h over, the fine jumps to R800, with two points added.
This pattern continues, with fines increasing by R200 for every bracket and points climbing every few brackets.
The highest fine is R3,200, applied when speeding 39–40km/h over the limit, along with five demerit points. Once a driver exceeds 40km/h over the limit, they face arrest and six demerit points.
The Aarto framework is set for national rollout in December 2025, starting with 69 municipalities. By April 2026, it will extend to all municipalities, although the demerit system itself will only activate in September 2026.
Debates Around Speed Limits
While Aarto is meant to improve road safety, there has also been discussion about reducing South Africa’s overall speed limits. A 2022 proposal from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) suggested lowering limits, but it was strongly opposed by road safety groups and experts.
Critics argue that lowering speed limits will do little to address South Africa’s high accident rates. Instead, they highlight deeper issues such as poor road infrastructure, drunk driving, reckless behaviour, and licence fraud. Others claim that speed enforcement is often more about generating revenue than genuinely improving safety.
Whether the rollout of Aarto, with its fines and demerit points, will improve road safety remains uncertain. For now, motorists should remember the simple rule: stay within 10km/h of the speed limit to avoid fines and much larger consequences.
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