Justice Project South Africa (JPSA) supports the call of the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) for Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula to extend the validity period of all licenses beyond the 30 August deadline. It also urges the Minister to consider doing the same in respect of professional driving permits, and to give special consideration to the difficulties experienced by learner drivers, as a direct effect of the lockdown.
“Learner drivers whose learner’s licenses expired or are still to expire after 31 May are particularly adversely affected,” said JPSA chairperson, Howard Dembovsky. “During the ‘hard lockdown’ learner drivers could not undergo any formal instruction through driving schools, which were prohibited from operating under ‘levels 5 and 4’.”
He also asserted that the resultant demand for new tests for learner drivers who were affected by the lockdown will impact on volumes of applicants to repeat such learners’ tests. “This, in turn has a counterintuitive effect on social distancing, particularly in DLTCs where bookings must be done in person,” Dembovsky said.
Regarding professional driving permits, Dembovsky said that the process to renew a PrDP is more cumbersome than any licence and where one has or is to expire after 31 May 2020, such demand for renewals will have a similar counterintuitive effect, not only in DLTCs, but in doctors’ waiting rooms.
“We hope that the Minister will give the AA’s and our requests his urgent consideration,” he concluded.