AfriForum pushes ahead with legal battle over driving licences
Civil rights group argues that licence cards shouldn’t need to be renewed every five years
05 December 2023 - 14:45
byErnest Mabuza
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
AfriForum has applied for leave to appeal a judgment that dismissed its challenge to the requirement that driving licence cards must be renewed every five years. Picture: DENIS DROPPA
AfriForum has applied for leave to appeal a Pretoria high court judgment which held that the validity period of driving licence cards should not be revised.
On October 30, the court dismissed the civil rights group’s application in which it sought to review a regulation providing for the expiry of licence cards after five years.
The court said the regulation AfriForum sought to review was introduced more than 25 years ago. A review application had to be brought within 180 days after the initial regulation regarding the validity period of driver’s licence cards was issued.
AfriForum, in its application dated November 30, applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal, alternatively to a full bench of the high court.
AfriForum campaign officer Louis Boshoff said in many cases it wasn’t possible to comply with regulations that the department of transport sought to enforce.
For example, he said, AfriForum received several complaints from people who did not receive their new cards from the department within the stipulated period, which led to them being fined despite being legally licensed.
“SA road users know what it feels like to be fined because of a broken printer. If the department of transport cannot print driver’s licence cards they should not print fines for expired licences either — the injustice is obvious,” Boshoff said.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
AfriForum pushes ahead with legal battle over driving licences
Civil rights group argues that licence cards shouldn’t need to be renewed every five years
AfriForum has applied for leave to appeal a Pretoria high court judgment which held that the validity period of driving licence cards should not be revised.
On October 30, the court dismissed the civil rights group’s application in which it sought to review a regulation providing for the expiry of licence cards after five years.
The court said the regulation AfriForum sought to review was introduced more than 25 years ago. A review application had to be brought within 180 days after the initial regulation regarding the validity period of driver’s licence cards was issued.
AfriForum, in its application dated November 30, applied for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal, alternatively to a full bench of the high court.
AfriForum campaign officer Louis Boshoff said in many cases it wasn’t possible to comply with regulations that the department of transport sought to enforce.
For example, he said, AfriForum received several complaints from people who did not receive their new cards from the department within the stipulated period, which led to them being fined despite being legally licensed.
“SA road users know what it feels like to be fined because of a broken printer. If the department of transport cannot print driver’s licence cards they should not print fines for expired licences either — the injustice is obvious,” Boshoff said.
TimesLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.