Reprinted from News24, by Janine Van der Post – 2020-12-21
Helpful advice from Wheels24.
Photo: Arrive Alive
A very concerning question popped up in my mailbox several times this week from various readers about expired driving licence cards being confiscated by traffic officials.
And immediately alarm bells went off as this can’t be right, law officials confiscating motorists’ diving licence cards because then said motorists would be sent off by the very law officials to break the law even further?
One of our readers wrote in about her lockdown-expired driving licence card being confiscated during lockdown, and when she had returned and queried with the law official about her card, there was no knowledge of the incident. Her driving licence card is still missing.
Another reader, Martin Davies, wrote in and asked: “Should I get pulled over by traffic authorities, and my driving licence card has expired, can the officer confiscate my card? In which case I have no proof of having a valid driving licence card. Can I insist on retaining the card until I either have a temporary licence or receive my renewed card?”
We asked Justice Project South Africa’s Howard Dembovsky about the matter and he shares the following:
“The short answer is NO WAY!
“The more in-depth answer is as follows:
“The National Road Traffic Act is a jigsaw puzzle comprising around 316 A4 pages, and accordingly, must be fully understood by all who enforce its provisions.
“Section 3I (for India) of the National Road Traffic Act regulates the powers and duties conferred on a traffic officer, the relevant paragraph of which provides:
“In addition to the powers and duties conferred upon him or her or under this Act, a traffic officer may, subject to the provisions of this Act or any other law—
(a) exercise or perform any of the powers or duties conferred upon an inspector of licences under section 3F;…”
Section 3F of the National Road Traffic Act regulates the powers and duties conferred on an inspector of licences, the relevant paragraph of which provides:
“In addition to the powers and duties conferred upon him or her or under this Act, an inspector of licences may, subject to the provisions of this Act or any other law—…
(e) impound any document referred to in paragraph (b) which appears to be or which the officer suspects to be invalid or which has been or appears to have been unlawfully altered or defaced or which is being put to unlawful use, and where any document is so impounded, the inspector shall issue a receipt in respect thereof to the person concerned;…”
“While an expired driving licence card may no longer be regarded by some traffic officers as being CURRENTLY VALID proof that a person to whom it was issued is licensed to drive, it cannot be regarded as being an altogether invalid document and it does not represent any of the other grounds a traffic officer would have to impound it. Without it, its legal holder who is resident or wishes to renew his or her driving licence card in Gauteng is prevented from doing so because the RTMC’s own online NaTIS portal requires the licence number that appears on it to make a booking.
“In some cases, as is the case with my son, it is ESSENTIAL that the “expired” driving licence card is carried together with the new one. This is because, when my son renewed his driving licence card, his hair was well below shoulder length as he was growing it to donate to an organisation that makes real hair wigs for cancer sufferers. It has since been cut.
“If/when he presents this new card to traffic cops, they invariably question whether it is his. In the last incident, which occurred a little while ago, he was told: “I want to see YOUR driver’s[sic] licence, not your wife’s”. He is not married and there is no such document in South African law as a “driver’s licence”. The purpose of a photograph is to depict one’s FACIAL FEATURES, not one’s hairstyle, but try telling that to a pompous individual with an over-inflated ego, a badge, and a gun.
The National Road Traffic Act provides for and defines a document called a DRIVING licence, NOT a “driver’s licence”. Even though I can forgive civilians for referring to it by the wrong name, a properly qualified traffic officer should know this!
“Furthermore, a properly qualified traffic officer has a legal duty to know that any learner’s licence, driving licence card, temporary driving permit or professional driving permit that expired between 26 March and 31 December 2020 is valid until 31 August 2021, by the decree of Minister Fikile Mbalula in Government Gazette 43958 of 3 December 2020.
“In view of the above, any predatory traffic cop (not ‘officer’) who impounds or otherwise “confiscates” an expired driving licence card is acting maliciously and, in my view, outside of the framework of the law.
“Personally, if this were to happen to me, I would immediately go to the nearest police station and register a case of theft against the official concerned. If the policeman/woman at the relevant SAPS “customer service centre” refuses to register my complaint, I will escalate it to the station commander, and if necessary, to SAPS HQ because SAPS is there to register (and investigate) criminal complaints, not to decide whether or not to prosecute.”
Cape Town law firm SD Law is an expert in criminal law, including DUI and possession of drugs. We are available 24/7 to help. Save our number in your phone under “bail lawyer” 076 116 0623.