The Traffic Department is responsible for testing and checking that all drivers are qualified and capable of operating a motor vehicle safely and properly.
I recently had the misfortune to go to the Randfontein Traffic Department to renew my driver’s licence, so let met describe what happened.
I arrived with all the correct documents, so they couldn’t send me away, much to their chagrin. I was given a form which I filled in and handed back. The man behind the counter refused to take it, saying, “The office is now closed,” at 10.30am in the morning.
I asked him to either take the form, which was right in front of him, or give me R30 for petrol so that I could come back the next day. He muttered something unrepeatable and walked away.
I went back the next day and handed in the form, and was told to go for an eye test. When I got there, the waiting room was full and people were queuing up outside. A man came out the building counting bodies, and said that the last 35 people could go home as they would not be dealt with that day.
When I went back before 7.30am the next day, I was seventh from the front of the queue. When the door was opened, three of the five booths were manned, and I soon had my turn. The man who served me was rude, arrogant, officious and dictatorial, the equipment was “Mickey Mouse” and not scientific, and he didn’t know how to operate it. He showed me a tiny image, from the bottom of the eye chart, then said, “You are not responding. You are failing the eye test”. I showed him my certificate from a qualified and competent optician, and said, “No, I am not failing the eye test”. Suddenly the images were clear, full-sized and recognisable.
He then tried to take my thumb prints on a scanner. After six unsuccessful attempts, he gave up and told me to stand at the front of the waiting queue, and take the next available opening. He then then left the room, and so my test was started again.
The second attempt was conducted professionally, politely, successfully and the test was concluded.
So after three days wasted in visits to the Department, suffering rude, officious and questionably qualified personnel, wasting half an hour of the time of the poor people behind me, and testing my patience to its limit, I finally got my licence eye test done, not the qualified, clinical optician’s report I took with me, but just the unqualified opinion of someone would not be allowed to interact and deal with the public.
Is this acceptable public service delivery? I think not!
