At least 60% of motorists across the country whose driving licences expired between March and December 2020 face paying hefty fines from September 1 should they fail to renew their licences by the end of the grace period next week.
This was a warning issued by the Johannesburg metro police on Monday as the deadline for licence renewals inches closer.
According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), 60% of motorists across the country account for driving licences that expired between March and December 2020 that have not yet been renewed.
There has been growing frustration among motorists over the centralised licence booking system, which has been unable to accommodate the high number of demands for renewals and testing in the past few months.
Transport authorities are yet to give any indication as to whether the grace period for the validity of licences that was granted during the hard lockdown would be extended.
Instead, RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said to accommodate high volumes of people trying to beat the cut-off date, two more driving licence testing centres (DLTCs) will open in Gauteng to ease the influx.
The centres, Zwane said, will operate from 7am to 9pm daily, seven days a week and will increase licencing capacity by 48%.
Two weeks ago Gauteng MEC for transport and road infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo said the provincial government has committed to increasing the number of driving licence testing centres to meet the high demand.
The cut-off date for renewal of all expired licences is August 31.
Zwane said the available number of slots on any day is influenced by capacity at driving licence testing centres, prevailing Covid-19 restrictions and whether there is a Covid infection at any of the facilities.
When asked what would happen if after August 31 motorists had not been able to renew their expired licences, Zwane said the RTMC would decide what steps to take after the cut-off date.
“Motorists are making efforts to renew. We will conduct an evaluation at the end of the period and determine what steps need to be taken against those who are not compliant,” said Zwane.
Johannesburg Metro police department spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said motorists who fail to produce a valid driver’s licence after August 31 will be given a traffic fine.
Minnaar said traffic officials will issue fines of up to R1,250 to motorists driving with expired licences.
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