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In this guide
By Onah Attorneys Inc • Updated July 2026 • Legal information, not a substitute for advice on your specific matter.
AARTO replaces the old fine-and-forget culture with a points system: infringements add demerits, too many suspend your licence, repeat suspensions cancel it. Constitutional challenges resolved, national rollout phased in — professional drivers and fleet owners especially need to understand the machine. Here it is.
The mechanics
Infringements carry fine amounts plus demerit points by severity (speeding bands, licence/vehicle offences, serious moving violations). Threshold: exceed the permitted points and your licence is SUSPENDED (3 months per point over), with points decaying quarterly when you behave. A third suspension = cancellation — retesting from scratch. Payment discounts reward early settlement; ignoring notices escalates to enforcement orders that block licence and disc renewals.
The notice chain — deadlines with teeth
Infringement notice (128 days of options: pay discounted, pay, make representations, nominate the real driver, elect court) → courtesy letter (+fees) → ENFORCEMENT ORDER (points applied, renewals blocked, +fees) → execution. Every stage has a clock; the system defaults against the silent. Fleet owners: the DRIVER NOMINATION duty is critical — undesignated company vehicles collect the juristic entity’s penalties and operator consequences.
Fighting an infringement
Representations (written, to the RTIA): wrong vehicle/driver, defective notice service, calibration and signage challenges, emergencies — succeed more than cynics expect, and a successful representation kills the points. Rejected representations escalate to the Appeals Tribunal, then review. The maths matters: for professional drivers, contesting a 4-point camera error is livelihood defence, not admin.
Professional drivers and operators
PrDP holders live closer to the thresholds their jobs consume — a delivery driver’s routine month can be a suspension’s worth of camera fines. Operators: vehicle-linked points, operator cards, and the duty to manage driver conduct formally. Fleet compliance systems (nomination workflows, fine audits, representation pipelines) are now business infrastructure — we build the legal side of them.
Old fines and the transition
Pre-AARTO fines under the CPA process don’t carry points but still block renewals via enforcement mechanisms and warrants in some jurisdictions. Audit your profile (NaTIS/online portals), resolve strategically — representations and prescription arguments apply to stale paper too. Clean the slate before the points regime prices every lapse.
Frequently asked questions
How many points before suspension?
The threshold sits at a modest fixed number (12-15 by current framework) — exceed it and suspension runs 3 months per excess point. Points shed with clean quarters.
Can I still choose to go to court?
AARTO channels disputes through representations and the Tribunal rather than automatic court election for scheduled infringements — with review remaining. The written representation is now the main battlefield.
Someone else drove my car — am I stuck with the points?
No — nominate the actual driver within the notice period with their details. Miss the window and unwinding it becomes genuinely painful.
Do demerits affect insurance?
Insurers increasingly ask about suspensions and records — a suspension is disclosure material. Another reason the 4-point dispute is worth an hour of paperwork.
Speak to an Attorney Today
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