There have been more than 400 incidents of people trying to complete transactions at Cape Town’s Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) with suspicious documents, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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If you are renewing your driving licence, you need to produce your current licence, identification and proof of address. If you are applying for a public driving permit (PrDP), you also need to provide a valid medical certificate and obtain police clearance.
Those with foreign driving licences are required to have them converted, which also requires valid documentation such as identity documents, passports and visas.
However, 430 incidents where documents submitted were questionable were recorded between July 2023 and June 2024.
A further 297 suspicious licences were flagged, of which 16 were confirmed to be fake and revoked.
Six applicants were arrested at the Goodwood DLTC on charges of fraud, and nine at Gallows Hill.
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‘People taking shortcuts is no surprise. However, it has massive implications for the individual if they are caught, but also the safety of other road users who have to contend with someone (…) unfit to drive,’ says Alderman JP Smith, Cape Town’s Mayco member for safety and security.
‘Unfortunately, many suspects make a run for it when they realise the jig is up. Also, the majority of staff at DLTCs are administrative and do not have powers of arrest.’
‘What is absolutely mind-boggling, is that people will arrive to renew fake licences or obtain public driving permits with those fake licenses.’
Staff are trained to identify forged documents and procedures are in place to verify and check all documentation on the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS).
If a document is proven false, the person should complete an affidavit to state where they obtained the document and why.
In addition, an administrative mark will be added to the person’s name on NaTIS and the DLTC will inform the Provincial Department of Mobility and the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit.
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