AA pleads for extension to deadline for driver’s licence renewals
The Automobile Association (AA) has appealed to government for another extension to the deadline for drivers to renew their licences.
Thursday is the deadline for motorists to renew their driving licences.
The renewal of driver's licensing was severely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and led to government granting several extensions for expired licences to be renewed.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula made an allowance where driving licences, which expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021, remained valid until 31 March 2022.
AA spokesperson Layton Beard says it's unrealistic for government to expect the backlog in applications to have been cleared.
"Given the recent problems with the production of driving licences cards, and issues around Driving Licence Testing Centres and online booking systems, we believe it’s unrealistic to expect that this enormous backlog will be cleared by tomorrow (Thursday). This leaves hundreds of thousands of drivers without the necessary documents to be on the road legally.
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"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."
Beard believes government’s first priority should be the creation of a more conducive environment for motorist to renew their licences.
"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.”
