Motorists urged to renew licences before deadline

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) is calling on motorists whose driving licences expired at the beginning of lockdown, to make arrangements while time still permits, to renew their documents, and not wait for the last minute.

RTMC has noticed that motorists whose driving licences expired between 26 March 2020 and
31 August 2021 are not taking full advantage of the extended validity period to renew their documents.

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula extended the validity of driving licence cards that expired between these dates, to 31 March 2022.

This is in an effort to assist driving licence cardholders to comply with legislation.

In addition, the minister launched two driving licence centres in Gauteng, increasing available capacity in the province by 26 000 more slots per month.

RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said they have introduced extended operating hours in 106 major centres and are opening on weekends to clear the backlog.

‘Experience from the two RTMC centres shows that 25% of renewal applications are from people affected by lockdown and covered by the extension of the validity period.

Seventy-five per cent are from applicants exempted from the extension.

‘As a result, the backlog of driving licence cards that expired between
26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 is moving slowly. The backlog now stands at 242 170 in KZN,’ said Zwane.

‘Motorists are warned not to be complacent as the March 2022 deadline is fast approaching and chances are that another extension will not be granted.

‘It remains a great concern that 30% of applicants who book for renewals on the online platform do not show up to finalise the application.

‘Meanwhile, motorists who applied for the renewal of their licence cards when the two RTMC centres opened in October, are now able to collect their cards. ‘Messages are being sent to those whose cards are ready for collection,’ he said.