Driving licence shake-up proposed for South Africa
Automobile Association spokesperson Layton Beard has said that graduated driving licences (GDLs) could help reduce road fatalities in South Africa, particularly in the 15 to 24 age bracket.
Speaking to Cape Talk, Beard said GDLs aren’t yet up for discussion in South Africa. However, he added that the AA would support such a change if it became a reality.
Beard’s comments follow organisations in the UK calling for the implementation of GDLs for new drivers under the age of 21 to reduce road fatalities.
Under a GDL scheme, new motorists under 21 cannot use certain roads or carry passengers of similar age for six months after passing their driving licence tests. However, the period and some rules may vary.
Such a system has been proposed for South Africa in the past. However, Beard said implementing a scheme like it is still a long way off.
“Graduated driving licences are not something that is even up for discussion at the moment. It’s a pipe dream that’s very far away right now,” said Beard.
However, he explained that such a policy would help reduce fatalities on South Africa’s roads.
“Yes, I think there’s a lot of merit to it. I think there’s certainly a lot of benefits to having graduated driving licences,” Beard responded to a question about whether GDLs would be a good move for South Africa.
“When you look at the numbers of deaths on our roads, specifically between the ages of 15 and 24, you’re looking at around 1,720.”
“We would certainly support any measure that is going to benefit road safety. If that means that for a specific period of time, newly minted drivers only have access to drive on specific roads, rather than on busier highways,” he added.
However, Beard noted that several questions will need to be answered surrounding the implementation of a GDL scheme, including:
- How long is the period that you need to have a GDL?
- Where may you or may you not drive?
- Who may be in the vehicle with you?
- For what period does a GDL stay in force? Will it be six months, as is the case in some places? Or is it for longer?
“For a longer period, I think people would baulk at that,” Beard added.
He also said it would be critical that police effectively enforce such a policy.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) agrees that it will be a challenge to enforce such a system.
“While GDL could theoretically improve driver safety in South Africa, enforcement is a significant challenge. South Africa already struggles with visible and effective traffic policing, making it difficult to uphold new driving restrictions,” it told MyBroadband.
“Outa believes that a GDL system could benefit South Africa, but it must be part of a broader strategy that includes better enforcement and improvements in infrastructure and vehicle safety.”
Rob Handfield-Jones, road safety expert and managing director of driving skills company Driving.co.za, proposed the introduction of GDLs as far back as 2008 while head of public affairs at the AA.
“So I am very much in favour, in principle at least,” he told MyBroadband.
“Provisional driving licences were then actually included in a proposed legislative amendment some ten years ago, but those proposals didn’t make it past the committee stage.”
However, he noted that fraudulent driving licences are a major problem in South Africa, and as a result, he doesn’t believe a new scheme would affect the frequency of accidents on the country’s roads.
“With the SIU finding that 50% of driving licences are fraudulent nowadays, and with the enforcement system having been almost completely repurposed as a profit centre, provisional licensing has become as moot as AARTO,” said Handfield-Jones.
“Whether or not either or both are implemented will not, in my opinion, have any effect on the carnage on our roads.”
Regarding the earlier proposal for provisional driving licences, the Department of Transport, in October 2020, again mentioned its plans during a presentation on the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill before Parliament.
This was after the government had previously proposed a graduated licence system that would have introduced a provisional driving licence.
New drivers would progress from a learner’s permit to a provisional licence subjected to certain restrictions.
Once the driver has obtained the necessary experience and possibly after further testing, they may earn a full driving licence.