A South African drivers license | Image: Facebook
There will not be any further extensions to the driving licence renewal grace period beyond March 31 for motorists whose driving licences expired during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The Department of Transport (DoT) confirmed this on Tuesday, and said that as at March 15, there were still 1 433 835 driving licence cards that fall within the grace period that have not been renewed.
As at February 3, renewal applications had not yet been made for 2.1 million driving licences nationwide that will have expired by March 31.
“The department has called for and is encouraging all motorists whose driving licences are due for renewal to make use of the renewal period and apply for renewal of their driving licences within the stipulated time frame as there will be no further extension afforded.
“There are DLTCs [Driving Licence Test Centres] in the Gauteng province that operate from 7am to 9pm, seven days a week in order to assist with the backlog. In addition, other provinces have extended operating hours over weekends to assist many more motorists,” the DoT said.
The large number of motorists who have not yet applied to renew their expired licences led to renewed calls by both the Automobile Association (AA) and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on Wednesday for a further extension of the grace period.
The grace period deadline applies to driving licence cards that expired between March 26 2020 and August 31 2021.
The DoT said it is anticipated that the backlog in the printing of driving licence cards caused by the breakdown between November 2021 and January 2022 of the machine that produces these cards will be cleared by April 2022.
However, it said a backlog has also been experienced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic grace period and it is anticipated that this backlog will be cleared by September 2022.
But this means there will be motorists who will be driving without a valid driving licence through no fault of their own and despite applying for a renewal of their licence before the end of the grace period.
The DoT responded to a Moneyweb question about what happens to motorists who have applied to renew their driving licence cards but have not yet received their new cards by March 31.
It said that according to Regulation 108(6) of the National Road Traffic Act, the driving licences of motorists who renew their driving licence cards before March 31 will remain valid for a further three months on condition the motorists still have their old driving licence card and have proof, in the form of a receipt, of fees paid for their renewal application.
However, this response ignores the DoT confirmation that it is only anticipated that the backlog caused by the Covid-19 grace period will be cleared by September, which is six months after the end of the grace period and three months longer than the validity period provided by Regulation 108(6).
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula previously indicated that he would be making an announcement about the cost of temporary driving licences, which is an issue for low-income and unemployed people, particularly because of the problems experienced at DLTCs and the breakdown of the card producing machine.
The DoT did not respond to a query about when Mbalula will be making an announcement on this issue.
The department said: “In terms of regulation 108(6), those who applied before the expiry date, will have their driving licence card valid for a further period of three months.
“For those who applied after the expiry date, the motorists will have to apply for a temporary driving licence card,” it said.
“Motorists are therefore encouraged to apply before the expiry date to avoid incurring any possible additional costs.”
The DoT also confirmed that the dispute that led to protests by National Driving School Association of South Africa members, resulting in the closure of at least 13 Driving Licence Test Centres (DLTCs) in Johannesburg and Tshwane, has been resolved.
“The DLTCs are operating normally in terms of the interim agreement … and no other DLTC closures have been reported,” the DoT said.
AA spokesperson Layton Beard said 1.4 million is a big number and is justifiable cause to extend the grace period so these 1.4 million people can be brought “into the fold in the next six to eight months”.
“Instead of criminalising these people, we would certainly advocate that an extension period is granted to them,” he said.
Beard said the DLTCs are not going to process 1.4 million renewal applications by March 31.
“Many of those people … probably made an effort to renew their licences but have encountered difficulties along the way,” he said.
Beard said the AA’s experience is that the vast majority of people want to be legal on the road and will make an attempt to stay legal on the road.
“But if their efforts are thwarted because of problems with online booking systems or distances they have to travel and to walk away with no result, their will to want to continue and try again is diminished. That is precisely why we see the very large numbers of people who are still outstanding,” he said.
Beard said the AA appreciates the fact there are two new DLTCs in Gauteng but stressed “two new driving centres is not going to solve a 1.4m problem”.
Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage said as much as one hears the government saying motorists had all the extensions and opportunities to renew their licences, Outa does not believe they have because it has been extremely difficult, especially in Gauteng, to book for a driving licence renewal.
Duvenage said Outa knows of many people who have given up trying to renew their licence because they cannot get a booking.
“It’s not from lack of trying and it’s not their fault that they couldn’t get a booking and get it done on time,” he said.
Duvenage said the government’s response to motorists having to pay for a temporary licences for a problem created by the government “speaks to the dysfunctionality and rationality of how they [government] are trying to manage this process.
“Again it just creates more confusion and more angst and more illegitimacy for government and traffic officers now have to start calculating are you before or after the original expiry date and have to read these new temporary regulations. It’s clear as mud,” he said.
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