How to... Get your drivers licence (Part 1)

Getting your drivers licence is the most painful, yet most rewarding experience. It is an absolute must have, even if you don't have a car to drive.

The government has not made this a very easy process, and it seems to get worse every year.

The first step is to get your learners licence. Even though some people learn to drive on the plaas in daddies old bakkie (or steal the car when the parents are away), your learners licence is the legal document required for you to drive on the roads (as long as you are accompanied by a licenced driver).

Insurance will not pay out for accidents caused by people without their licence or their learners. Insurance doesn't pay out for a lot of situations, (but that's another topic altogether).

To apply for your learners, you need to be 17, and in the possession of a Green bar coded ID book.

This site has a very detailed description of the learners licence process: http://www.mydriverslicence.co.za/learners_licence1.htm

Books that contain information about road signs and the rules of the road can usually be found at most book stores, and I have even seen them on sale at Spar and Pick and Pay.

Learning from this book is probably the most helpful, and even though you may have a friend of a friend who has the papers, you may end up at a testing centre with computerised tests, where the questions are randomised. (Which doesn't help when you have learnt the sequence acabbcdaab etc..)

Getting your booking for your learners (or your drivers) is near impossible. Unfortuanately it seems that the only way to get a quick booking nowadays is to pay someone money to get you one. These people generally have contacts within the booking centres, (which they bribe with some of the money you parted with) and are offered the first bookings that are released, leaving ever other law abiding citizen to scream at a pre recording at a call centre, and sit on hold for over an hour, to only be told that there are no bookings available. VERY FRUSTRATING!

Cost

Have a look at the following website for the various costs associated with obtaining your learners

http://www.services.gov.za/ServicesForPeople/Transport/Drivingandearningtodrive/learnerslicence.aspx?Language=en-ZA

Another helpful site, with online tests can be found here
http://www.trafficsigns.co.za/index.php


Happy driving! :)