Big spike in traffic fines expected to hit South Africa from this week: AA
The Automobile Association has warned that a ‘crisis is looming’ in South Africa as the deadline for the renewal of driving licences arrives on Thursday (31 March) but with hundreds of thousands of drivers who have still not applied for their new cards.
This will not only have a potential impact on insurance for people driving with expired licences, it will also likely lead to a spike in traffic fines, the association said.
The Automobile Association (AA) again appeals to the Minister of Transport to reconsider the government’s refusal to extend this deadline and to make provision for a longer renewal period.
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.
In February Minister Mbalula indicated that the total backlog of expired licences stands at 2.1 million nationally.
Given the recent problems with the production of driving licences cards, and issues around Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) and online booking systems, the AA said it is unrealistic to expect that this enormous backlog will be cleared by Thursday (31 March).
This leaves hundreds of thousands of drivers without the necessary documents to be on the road legally, it said.
“Unless traffic law enforcement understands these issues – and finds a suitable way of addressing them – we may find a massive spike in the number of traffic fines issued to motorists in the next couple of weeks and months,” said the AA.
In addition, the association said motorists may find themselves negatively impacted from an insurance perspective if they are involved in crashes.
“Insurers may repudiate claims if motorists are driving with expired licences. Although those who have applied for new licences are covered through an extension of the validity of their licences, there are still many drivers who have not applied for renewed licences for various reasons beyond their control.
“Government’s priority should be to provide an environment conducive to renewing these documents and to provide the necessary backup systems to ensure timely production and delivery. This is currently not the case in the majority of DLTCs and is creating a situation that will, effectively, criminalise those who could not apply for renewals through no fault of their own,” it said.
An extension is the only realistic option
The AA says the only practical solution now is for government to further extend the renewal period, and to ensure all DLTCs and systems are geared to accommodate the backlogs.
Failing this, motorists will, unfortunately, make the decision to drive illegally as they still must remain mobile, whatever the consequences. This is a situation which suits no-one in the country, it said.
“Extending the deadline will indicate a willingness by the government to deal effectively with the current backlogs and will show that it understands the limitations of its current structures. Along with extending the deadline, the government must now urgently finalise plans to extend the validity period of driving licences from five to ten years,” said the AA.
Mbalula in February indicated that research is being conducted into extending the validity period of driving licence cards from the current five-year period.
“This research should now be completed and is, in our view, the most practical way forward. It’s now incumbent on the government to implement this change as a pragmatic way of dealing with driving licence issues now and into the future,” the AA said.
Mbalula indicated that an announcement around the extension of the deadline will be made on Thursday.
UPDATE ON LICENCE RENEWALS: Tomorrow, 31 March 2022, we will give an update on the deadline for the Extension of Licence Validity.
On August 2021, the Dep of Transport announced the extension of a grace period ending on 31 March 22, this approaches an end tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/twekyT9EWO
— FIKILE MBALULA | MR FIX (@MbalulaFikile) March 30, 2022
Loading ...
