GEORGE NEWS - An average waiting period of seven months for an appointment for a driving test or learner's licence exam at George Traffic Department is causing huge frustration among the George public and members of the George Driving School Association.
If one tries now to get a booking for either the learner's exam or a driving test, the first available date is in October.
According to driving school operators, this has been an issue for a number of years, but despite their appeals to George Municipality for more efficient service, nothing has been done to improve the system.
This has led to many people opting to go to other municipalities around George for both their learner's and driver's licences.
Driving School Association chairperson Elton Olivier says the smaller towns in some cases have more testing officials than George, which is a secondary city.
"George has one dedicated testing official and Oudtshoorn three. We all know that George's population has been increasing at a rapid rate, and so is the demand for this service. The way George Municipality is handling this is ridiculous.
"There is the odd occasion when they would pull in traffic officials from the road, who are also trained testing officials, to try to work away the hold-up, but this is not making a difference."
Candidates who cannot or are not prepared to wait go to Riversdale, Willowmore, Calitzdorp, Mossel Bay, Plettenberg Bay and Knysna to have their tests done.
This, however has huge cost implications. Association secretary Renel Stander says, "There is much more wear and tear on our vehicles and at the current fuel price, the cost of a test shoots sky high.
"There is also a higher accident risk. I have installed kudu whistles on one of my vehicles after hearing about a student who had been in an accident where a kudu was involved."
University and college students' job applications are also impacted. Stander gives an example of a candidate who can get a job if she obtains a licence within the next three months, and a group of 56 agriculture students who need to obtain their licences this year so that they can apply for jobs in the agricultural sector next year.
"This will not be possible in George and I will be sending the majority of them to Calitzdorp."
The same applies to matriculants who have to get their ducks in a row for their post-matric year, whether it is to enter the job market or to study.
The periodic opening of the testing centre on a Saturday helped somewhat to ease the bottleneck of applications, but operators were informed that this has been discontinued because of budget constraints on overtime remuneration.
Operators say they are rendering an important service to the community by preparing citizens to become safe drivers on our roads. Photo: Facebook
Operators say they get the impression that the testing site is not used to full capacity as it is sometimes closed on a weekday.
Says Olivier, "We would like the booking records to be open for viewing so that we can see what is going on. We are rendering an important service to the community by preparing citizens to become safe drivers on our roads.
"It is a service that affects the whole community and we feel that the Traffic Department, as a public service department, is obligated to accommodate its citizens in this regard."
Operators say the professional conduct and will to render service at other towns' traffic departments outshine George. Says Olivier, "This situation is causing George Municipality to lose a valuable income."
The municipality's response to the Driving School Association's concerns was, "Management is aware of the challenge and the municipality is currently undergoing a micro structure review, which will hopefully address this in the near future."
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
