drivers license renewal

[murdock]

yip the time finally came and went guess what after the one reminder...due to my busy schedule i didnt make it...not because i didnt want to do it...but rather because the thought of sitting in long ques for hours and money i have to waste again...

i cannot for the life of me understand why they dont employ more people...always telling us that the umemployment rate is so high...yet simple things like goverment services are shocking...its not like they dont have the money....considering they are turning over more than R30 000 a day in one licensing department in one suburb times that by all the centres...lets just say there were only 10 thats over R300 000 a day times that by 5 then 4.33 and you will get the idea...its millions a month.

if you you do renew by the due date it is simple...

you dont need photos...there is a camera which takes your pic
you dont need to have your eyes tested...they do it it
thumb print...done by them

all you need is your ID document...the joke is your drivers license issued by them is not a valid form of identification
R205.00 cash
and lots of patience...


however....if you dont renew your license by the date it expires you will have to pay an additional R 70 for a temp license and
you will need to get 2 black and white photos...which cost an addtional R25.00 for 2 at a container on the premises...
so dont say you werent warned...

just another note
if you do the license renewal "within 2 months" before the expiry date it will be valid from the date of your exsisiting license not 2 months earlier.

[murdock]

now here the big question....what happens if you have an accident the day after your license expired...will the insurnace company pay out...you know these people they dont pay out if your tyre is 0.0005 below the legal tread limit even if you are parked at a stop street and you get hit from the back

what is the fine if you get caught driving without a temp license...during that 2 months it takes them to issue you a new license?

[Phil Cooper]

LAPSED LICENCE

Hi Murdock

The Insurance industry has taken a decision NOT to decline a claim "just" because your licence is expired.

IE If your licence will be renewed with NO problem, you can get a temp licence and send it to them.

HOWEVER - if it is expired, and the Authorities decide NOT to renew it (say, your eyesight is too poor) you COULD have a problem!

[murdock]

my license expired on sunday and i went and applied for a new one on monday morning...i was told i have to pay an extra R70 for a temp license and get 2 black and white photos...i decided not to get a temp one...my concern is if i have an accident what will happen...wil the isurance pay out...is there a fine if you are one day late and decide not to get a temp license and if so what is the fine?

the license is still valid for 3 months after your license expires...if you reapply on or before the date of expiry.

the next question would be if you are out the country for an extended period more than 6 months and your license expires during that period what would you have to do to renew it?

[tec0]

Why over complicate? If you know that you are going to be out of the country for more than six months then surely you will apply for a new licence before you go out of the county? And is R70 really that expensive?

A temp keeps you out of trouble, it helps with insurance? Why the hell would you want to save R70 knowing that it WILL help you?

Look if this was your TV licence then yes why the hell must we have a licence to own a TV? The entertainment value on SABC is really bad so why pay it? AND not to mention that your money pay for some high-roller manager or CEO expenses?

Car licence I get TV licence I don’t get. Seriously it is only R70? And it will save you how much if you get into an accident? A few thousand...

[AndyD]

If your TV license expires whilst you're out of the country you would probably arrive back to an arrest warrant and get lifted by SAPS at the arrivals lounge. I think I would rather risk my Driving license expiring.

[tec0]

If your TV license expires whilst you're out of the country you would probably arrive back to an arrest warrant and get lifted by SAPS at the arrivals lounge. I think I would rather risk my Driving license expiring.

sad but true...

[robinsonwang]

For the first time to get the license, how much should you pay for it?
is there any training for the freshman?

[Phil Cooper]

EXPIRED LICENCE

If you are caught driving without valid licence fine is R500.

And with the number of promised roadblocks over December that is a virtual certainty.

[Dave A]

For the first time to get the license, how much should you pay for it?
is there any training for the freshman?

Good question. Last I heard getting your driver's licence was a real circus. Queues, months of delays between booking and getting a test done, bribes.

Has it improved much recently?

[murdock]

R1000 cash to an inspector at a durban testing ground gaurentees your drivers license first time round...and believe me when i hear how many times these youngsters have to redo if they dont pay it...and the cost involved for lessons etc...it would be money well spent.

[Dave S]

A temp keeps you out of trouble, it helps with insurance? Why the hell would you want to save R70 knowing that it WILL help you?

I wouldn't have a problem with paying R70 if it were me that was in error, but the thing is that the DOMV takes too long to process, therefore it is their error and they should be giving a temp at no charge. The cost should be recovered from the normal cost of licensing, which you pay for anyway.

[Phil Cooper]

LATE PENALTY

I applied for renewal and temp. licence 2 weeks back.

Strangely enough, NO penalty was imposed on me. I was past expiry (albeit by one day)!

The day before I went in I searched the internet. And left more confused than before.

Some sites said colour pictures. Some said B&W. The fees (and penalties, if any) differed from site to site....

In the end they TOLD me B&W (but used colour, as I took both with me)!

The worst hassle is to queue for the eye test. DO NOT waste your time getting one in advance - you have to sit anyway as the guys who do the eye tests (a) have to sign them off, and (b) do the fingerprinting and take the actual pictures that they use....

Best advice - get there 07h00 so you can get in ahead of the queues. Makes it (relatively) painless!

[murdock]

it is not a penalty...you have the choice to buy a temp or not...i chose not to as i feel this whole license renewal is a money making racket...the reason i was 1 day late was because mine expired on the sunday...i went in on the monday and applied to renew it...the joke is it take 8 weeks to get a new one...my question again is why dont they print them and supply the new one straight away...and dont tell me because of corruption or lack of skilled people then you gona just make me laugh...as your driver license is not seen as valid identification by the licensing department because of all the fraud as it is.

and there are plenty of skilled white people who would be capable of taking on the positions to improve the service and reduce the waiting period and ques...i noticed while renewing my license there was not one white male or female working in the entire building that i could see...talk about discrimination and bias employment....where is the equality.

[murdock]

well after a discussion last night with a mate...i decided the R77 and R25 for the 2 photos was a better option...

with the festive season upon us it is too risky to drive around without a vaild license...and i thought if i have an accident with the vehicle and boat on the back i would be down the tube for around a half a million rand...and we all know these insurance companies all tooo well...any excuse not to pay out.

so i did it this morning and now i am legal again