Law to be ‘strictly’ applied to those with expired driving licences
“No excuses will be entertained as the government has extended the validity period for these documents on numerous occasions.”
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) warned motorists that law enforcement agencies will from this week on strictly apply the law against those with expired driving licences.
“No excuses will be entertained as the government has extended the validity period for these documents on numerous occasions and implemented extensive measures to assist motorists who wish to comply,” said RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane.
The warning came after the grace period ended on May 5, for motorists whose driving licences, temporary driving permits and professional driving permits and learner’s licences expired between March 2020 and August 31, 2021.
“Motorists who have missed the deadline are advised to obtain temporary driving licences to remain legal and compliant.”
Zwane said driving license centres in most provinces had extended their operating hours to help catch up on the 1.3 million driving licence cards backlog.
He said those who had already renewed and wished to know whether their licence cards had been printed were advised to SMS their identity numbers to 33214 to verify.
He said verification could also be done by logging individual profiles at online.natis.gov.za.
“The information will be on the dashboard under licensing information summary,” he said.
Zwane reminded motorists that driving with expired driving licence cards would also have negative consequences in case of collisions needing insurance companies.
“They may decline claims made by drivers who failed to renew their cards.”
The transport department last month said it would “ruthlessly” penalise motorists who don’t renew their driving licences before the deadline of the extended grace period.
“There will be no further extensions,” said transport minister Fikile Mbalula.
“We will penalise those who wilfully disregard the law and fail to renew their expired licences while assisting those with genuine challenges.
“We have done everything to remove obstacles that impeded the renewal of driving licences. It is now up to the motoring public to overcome their inertia and comply.”
He said an average of 25% of motorists in Gauteng, who had booked licence renewal slots online, did not show up for their bookings.
“Motorists must understand that they have to use their booked slots to help us tackle the backlog.
“We urge drivers to take up the slots, which would ordinarily have been used by others who have difficulty in finding slots closer to where they live,” said Mbalula.
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