Booking a Driving Test is so Frustrating These Days!

Drivers licence applicants are experiencing major problems when it comes to booking for a drivers licence test. I get so many calls in a day of people having trouble getting through the call centre. Even the few available testing centres that take driving test bookings over the counter are a no go area because of the long queues. Most of the people get there at 5 am, only to find a long queue. After you have stood on the queue for hours, there is a possibility of being cut off because they claim they can only book so many people a day.

People are really frustrated about getting a drivers licence booking, because its becoming an arm and a leg. You try from morning to noon to contact the call centre but still no answer, no open test session or the worst that could happen with the Ekurhuleni number is hold on for a good 20 min on the phone, only to be cut off! I know this sounds familiar to you!

Learners licence about to expire

Its so frustrating not to get a booking because, you need your drivers licence. I get people who call me to say they urgently need a booking for a driving test because their learners licence is about to expire. Because writing your learners licence for the second or third time in your life its just not on. Especially if the reason was because you couldn't get a booking for a drivers test.

But unfortunately it happens, my licence has expired once last year November, and if you look back to those days it was when bookings where so scarce to get and it still is today.

People claimed that driving schools are saturating or hacking the system (call centre) to get their own clients booking. I believe and not believe this story, because I have talked to a few driving schools in Gauteng and their also running out of business because their cant get booking for their learners. So you ask yourself, who is taking up most of the time on the call centre number? because I cant get a booking, you cant get a booking and their cant get a booking also!

I once got through the call centre in Ekurhuleni, I asked the lady what is the problem? Why do I have to try for the hole month just to speak to you. She replied by saying, you are not they only one calling at that particular moment. Other hundreds of people are also trying.

The problem why driving school are taking a strain with this thing, is because most of the learners licence holders, don't want to take lessons unless they have a drivers test booking. But again this depends on how ready you are with your driving.

Then you get people who HAVE TO, I mean really have to get a drivers test booking, because they employer says so (please note that this link, leads to a PFD file). Many South Africans have got nice jobs, that are willing to take them a step forward. But again it is so frustrating when the employer gives you 2 months to get your drivers licence or else! Now at this point in time you will be doing the run arounds for booking a driving test, only to find non at all. This especially happens in Gauteng.

There is something that I have witnessed at the current moment with booking a driving test. And at the same time I have seen that the quote "Another men's meat is another men's poison is true". There are people who are making money with booking a driving test these days. The estimation of the price is like R200 to get a booking for you. Now if you are desperate for a booking, you might be the meat of this men and the licence department. Because after getting this R200 drivers licence booking, you will need to confirm your booking. To do that you will need R178 (which might change) for confirmation R40 for photos. Again on the day of the driving test you will need R350 (estimated) for driving school car use and if you pass (praying that you do) you have to pay R150 (estimated). Now this is not all, if you were to put the driving school lesson charges on these amounts about R150, will rather leave it there! Another women alerted me on this

Total might be R890...

Drivers licence test

Now lets say you get your booking, go for the test and only to fail thetest. Failing your drivers licence test is a possibility, most people have gone for more than 5 times. I have gone for my drivers licence 4 times. This means every time you fail, you have to pay the above amount and go through the same frustration of booking a driving test.

The frustration of getting a booking are at the same time leading to more corruption in the country. If you go around and try different testing centres and nothing comes your way, many resolve into buying or bribing for the licence. Which is illegal! I wouldn't want to find my self in this route because this is wrong, yes the Enatis system is failing us but we cant keep supporting a dying & wrong action. I want to drive my car one day and when I'm being stopped by the traffic officers, be able to produce my drivers licence, when they check it, it must be found on the system.

I had  father calling me, with a very sad story, but it was encouraging for me to keep on trying for my licence rather than buying or bribing an examiner for it. This father bought a car for his daughter. One year later the daughter and the fiancé had an accident on their way home, the fiancé was the one driving. We all know that during an accident there is so much happening and people are not thinking straight at that time, in short it was "deurmaekaar", the car was written off.

Now the insurance wont pay the father because the fiancé lost his drivers licence on the accident scene and claims some police officer took it when he took his ID document. When the follow up the story no police officer has a record of that, when they go to the Licencing departments to get a copy of the drivers licence, the records show that the fiancé NEVER had a drivers licence!

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