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• Motorists with lockdown expired driving licence cards only have ten days left to renew.
• The final deadline is now 15 April.
• There are still more than 1.4 million drivers who need to renew their expired driving licence cards.
The long-awaited 31 March deadline for expired driving licences was once again extended earlier this month. However, this time motorists seemingly only have 10 more days left to try and get their driving licence cards renewed.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced earlier in April that the latest extension for lockdown driving licences, learner's licences, and Professional Driving Permits, which expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021, would now be 15 April.
While we're grateful for another extension, it's rather alarming, as Mbalula also said a backlog of at least 1.5 million driving licence cards needed to be cleared. According to the transport department, as of 28 March, 628 150 driving licence cards had been printed, and another 522 839 still needed to be done.
READ | The driving licence deadline is now expired, 10-year extension most practical solution - AA
The department also said 2.8 million motorists had expired lockdown licences, but only 51% of drivers had applied for renewals. This means there are still more than 1.4 million licence cards that need renewals. And, if you're one of those motorists, time is ticking.
Since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Monday (4 April) that South Africa is no longer under lockdown and that the national state of disaster had been lifted, Mbalula will probably not extend the deadline come 15 April.
The massive backlog came after the only licence card printing machine broke down in November, and was only up-and-running at the end of January. However, if the Driving Licence Card Account has taken two months to print only 628 150 cards, even if the machine runs 24/7 around the clock, two weeks is clearly not enough time to print the remainder of the backlog. But the biggest issue here is that the driving licence system in South Africa has always been in crisis, and was only highlighted due to challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) also says 24 000 online slots are available for motorists to book appointments. Other measurements have also been taken by the RTMC and the department, such as the Waterfall and EcoPark driving licence testing centres which are open seven days a week from 07:00 to 21:00. The RMTC should really implement these hours or extended hours at more or even all DLTCs around the country.
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The online Natis booking system is not the easiest to navigate or use, and motorists are still experiencing offline systems based on feedback from our Wheels24 readers. Senior drivers over the age of 60 are also still being turned away, despite being told they're allowed to do walk-ins and will be assisted at any time. Others have complained that the fingerprint machines were not working, but their temporary applications were processed regardless. Would their driving licence cards then be valid when it arrives without biometrics?
But what happens when time is up? Are all motorists going to receive harsh penalties due to circumstances beyond their control these past two years, or will law enforcement target motorists for easy revenue pickings? It's important to remember that your driving licence never expires; only the card does. However, you must carry a valid driving licence card on your person whenever you're driving.
Some drivers had expired driving licence cards before the national lockdown in March 2020, and these licence cards need to be renewed. Since your driving licence does not expire, DLTCs can not charge extra penalties. So even if your licence card expired five years ago, or even 10 years ago, you'd still pay the same licence renewal fee.
Renewal costs vary depending on which province you reside in and whether you use the online booking system (Gauteng and some Eastern Cape metros) or walk in at a DLTC instead. However, if you are pulled over while driving or stopped at a roadblock, you could face a fine anywhere between R500 to R1 500 for an expired driving licence card.
If you have already applied for your driving licence card renewal, keep your receipts or any proof of payment or renewal applications in your vehicle. Also, make copies and email them to yourself in case the paper fades before your licence card arrives. Present these documents when traffic officials pull and it should suffice for expired driving licence cards to be considered valid.
The Automobile Association, Outa, and the South African Driving Institution of Instructors have all called for the validity of driving licence cards to be extended to ten years. This would be the most practical solution to solve all licence issues - especially for those citizens who are abroad.
The AA said: "Minister Mbalula in February indicated that research is being conducted into extending the validity period of driving licence cards from the current five-year period. This research should now be completed and is, in our view, the most practical way forward. It's now incumbent on government to implement this change as a pragmatic way of dealing with driving licence issues now and into the future."
Mbalula said research was being conducted regarding a longer licence card validity period, but this would only be concluded at the end of April 2022.
Wheels24 has reached out to the transport department to inquire what happens to all expired licences that have not yet been renewed come 15 April but have not yet received any feedback when publishing this article.
