Mauritius just changed its road rules: what drivers need to know
The Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2026 is in force since 29 September: road rage is now a crime, penalties for killing someone on the road have doubled, and drink-drivers will soon lose their car. What changed, when, and why.
In short
The Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2026 (Act No. 15 of 2026) was passed on 1 September and assented on 4 September. Eight of its eleven changes took effect at midnight on 29 September 2026.
Road rage is a new offence: threats, abusive or insulting language and behaviour, assault, damage or blocking roads. Penalty: Rs 50,000-100,000 and up to 12 months in prison.
Causing death by dangerous driving now costs Rs 100,000-250,000 (was Rs 50,000-100,000), and causing death while driving without a licence is a new offence with up to 5 years in prison.
Coming later: vehicle seizure for drink- and drug-driving (Rs 2,000 a day storage, Rs 10,000 release fee), Safe City cameras fining speeding and phone use, and from January 2027 you must carry your licence or the Digital Driving Licence.
The aim is to cut deaths: 124 people died on Mauritian roads in 2025, 52 of them on motorcycles and 30 pedestrians, with 747,000 vehicles registered.
What changed on 29 September
According to the Government Information Service, eight of the eleven amendments came into force at midnight on 29 September 2026. The table summarises the main offences and penalties for a first conviction.
What is coming next
Three measures were deferred. Vehicle seizure (new section 123AP): police will be able to seize a vehicle if the driver fails or refuses a breath, drug or impairment test. Getting it back will cost a Rs 5,000 application fee, Rs 2,000 for each 24 hours of storage and a Rs 10,000 release fee, plus towing; unclaimed vehicles can be sold after three months.
Safe City cameras will be allowed to detect offences such as speeding and phone use, adding to the fixed speed cameras on main roads. From January 2027, drivers must carry either the original licence or the Digital Driving Licence in the government KOREK! app: check that your details are correct in the app. An online fine-payment system was due to open on 30 October 2026, with a 28-day window to pay fixed penalties electronically.
Separately, the Budget makes renewal of the road tax (motor vehicle licence) conditional on paying outstanding traffic fines, and creates a Traffic Management and Road Safety Unit whose clearances will bind the Road Development Authority and local councils.
Why now: the road-safety record
Road deaths rose sharply after the pandemic, from 107 in 2022 to 138 in 2023, before easing to 134 in 2024 and 124 in 2025. That is about 10 deaths per 100,000 people. Motorcyclists and their passengers (52 deaths in 2025) and pedestrians (30) account for two-thirds of the toll, while the number of vehicles keeps rising: 746,961 registered at the end of 2025 (+5.1%), including 257,000 motorcycles and mopeds.
The Act targets the behaviours behind the worst crashes, impairment, speed, phones, aggression and unlicensed driving, and leans on deterrence. International experience suggests the certainty of being caught matters more than the size of the fine, which is why the camera and seizure provisions are the ones to watch.
What it means for you
The new rules land differently on different road users.