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The Automobile Association (AA) is encouraged that the driving licence production machine is again operational and that efforts are underway to clear the massive backlogs in the delivery of driving licences to motorists in the country. However, the Association remains concerned about the capacity of the renewal system to service the 2.1 million motorists who must renew their licences before the end of March and believes that more time is needed to resolve the current backlogs.
In August last year, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced that driving licences which expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 will be valid until 31 March 2022. According to Minister Mbalula, the total backlog of licences that will have expired by 31 March that have to be renewed stands at 2.1m nationally.
In addition, there is a current backlog of 600 000 cards which must still be printed by government. In November last year, the machine printing driving licence cards broke down and was sent for repairs in Germany. It resumed operations on 22 January and is now printing 400 000 cards a month to clear the backlog. The department says it will clear this backlog by the end of April.
“Given the enormous challenges of renewing driving licences, and in the context of the current backlogs, we believe an extension to the grace period beyond 31 March would have been prudent. As it stands, the number of those needing to renew is growing and government must do everything it can to accommodate them,” says the AA.
The Association says while the Minister notes that the two new centres in Midrand and Centurion to cater for renewals are being under-utilised by the public, it may be impractical for many to use them.
“Driving Licence Testing Centres are specifically located to accommodate people of specific areas, and if these centres cannot assist them, they may not be in a position to use other centres; these may be too far or too costly for them to access. While these two new centres obviously provide state-of-the-art facilities, it would have perhaps been better to upgrade and better resource existing centres,” says the Association.
The Minister today also announced that new driving licence cards with advanced security features would be available from October 2023.
“These cards may provide added security, and will, according to the Minister, will be capable of being used as official identification, all of which is a positive development. However, if the existing problems around applying and issuing of cards are not resolved, the introduction of a new card – however advanced – will have solved nothing. We therefore eagerly await the introduction of new online procedures – which are slated to come into force on 17 February – as a way of dealing more effectively with the procedures around driving licence card renewals,” says the Association.
In addition, the Association says it welcomes the Minister’s announcement today research is being conducted into extending the validity period of driving licence cards from its current five-year period.
“The AA has urged government to extend the validity period of driving licences from five to 10 years as a way of dealing more effectively with renewals. We welcome the fact that this is being discussed and reviewed and look forward to the findings from the research which, we are certain, will support our view that this should happen,” concludes the AA.
