Government to discuss extending driving licence validity to 10 years in South Africa
The Automobile Association (AA) has welcomed a proposal to extend South Africa’s driving licence to a 10-year period.
Transport minister Fikile Mbalula says a team at the Road Traffic Management Corporation will compile a report on this proposal in the coming months, with a focus on how extending licences to 10 years could impact safety and revenue.
The AA has urged the government to extend the validity period of driving licences from five to 10 years as a way of dealing more effectively with renewals. Under current regulations, motorists in South Africa are required to renew their driving licence cards every five years.
“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,” it said.
The association has also called for an extended grace period for motorists who currently have an expired licence card. Forecasts by the Department of Transport shows that an estimated 2.1 million motorists will need to renew their licences before the end of March 2022 as part of a growing backlog.
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.
“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,” it said.
It warned that the introduction of a new driving licence card will not assist in addressing ongoing backlog concerns.
“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.”
Read: New driving licence cards for South Africa coming in 2023
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