Getting an SA Drivers License - Impossible?

epictring

So I'm 18, heading to university at the end of the month, and have been driving with my learners license since April 2011.

I have failed my drivers license 4 times now (not that I'm proud of it). 3 Times in Odendaalsrus and once in Welkom (my hometown city). My parents have spent over R2000 on lessons and the licensing appointments alone. In the process I have been offered bribes all around and have been failed for not accepting it.

I know this is my word against theirs, but there was only 1 instance in where I deserved to fail on my own mistake.

After a minute of googling today I see this is a MAJOR problem and that in the even bigger cities (JHB?) it is nearly impossible to pass without bribing, while it is easier in towns with small communities.

Now I have a problem, I need this license before the 20th and my time is running out, I am starting to get so stressed up about it that I actually start making real mistakes (since I think: "Pass now or I'm screwed").

Solution?

I still have my whole life in front of me and is already giving up hope for South Africa, will my children one day ever be able to pass without bribes? Not getting better anytime soon it seems.

Note: Please do not involve politics in replies, against site rules.

chris77

My mother in law's friend's son recently passed his here in Kimberley after I think 7 or 8 failed attempts. After having failed a couple of times his mom jokingly asked one of the officers what it will cost to just buy the damn thing. Aaaand he then gave her a total ? She was so shocked, she didn't know what to say ? He ended up failing it a few times more, but eventually he got it. How..... I didn't ask.

Bob-Dubery

epictring wrote: So I'm 18, heading to university at the end of the month, and have been driving with my learners license since April 2011.

I have failed my drivers license 4 times now (not that I'm proud of it). 3 Times in Odendaalsrus and once in Welkom (my hometown city). My parents have spent over R2000 on lessons and the licensing appointments alone. In the process I have been offered bribes all around and have been failed for not accepting it.

I know this is my word against theirs, but there was only 1 instance in where I deserved to fail on my own mistake.

After a minute of googling today I see this is a MAJOR problem and that in the even bigger cities (JHB?) it is nearly impossible to pass without bribing, while it is easier in towns with small communities.

Now I have a problem, I need this license before the 20th and my time is running out, I am starting to get so stressed up about it that I actually start making real mistakes (since I think: "Pass now or I'm screwed").

Solution?

I still have my whole life in front of me and is already giving up hope for South Africa, will my children one day ever be able to pass without bribes? Not getting better anytime soon it seems.

Note: Please do not involve politics in replies, against site rules.

Driver's licenses? People pass them every day. It's easier than you think to be deficient in the necessary skills (and passing your license is NOT the same as driving) and it's easy to blame it on corruption and racism.

Not that I think that SOME of the officials concerned are not on the take. Of course they are. There's always been some that have. But four fails out of four makes me think there's something else going on.

Have you tried taking lessons from an accredited school? Years ago, when I was working towards a license, that's what I did. It was money very well spent. The guy who taught me knew all the officials, where they liked to take testees, what they would try to catch you out on etc. As I walked out with the tester he asked if he could have a moment, took me aside briefly and said "this guy is going to take you down to all those one ways down near Fordsburg. He's going to try the trick of telling you to take the next right when the next intersection is a one way to your left." etc He was spot on, and because he gave me a heads up and because we'd be practising on all the roads that the testers liked to used I was relaxed and well prepared.

Passing a test is not the same as driving. This is where good instructors are worth their money. They don't just teach you to change gears and do emergency stops, they teach you to pass your test. Somebody my age can't get you to the necessary level by driving around the block with you and getting your gear changes smooth etc. The test now is more rigorous than it was then.

Bob-Dubery

Think long and hard before heading overseas. I was in the UK and in Spain in September and October and neither is the land of milk and honey. Standards of public service are clearly sliding in the UK and the high streets have plenty of boarded up shop fronts. There's lots of young people standing around on street corners doing nothing during hours when people who have got jobs are at work. It's especially tough for young kids because in times of unemployment potential employers can choose between a teenager who has no experience and, or so the perception is, is going to care for nothing beyond his blackberry. Or they can get someone older, redundant, experienced who is not going to jerk around because they have kids at home and thus need to put food on a table.

Spain is very pretty, but the economy is a mess and lots of companies are retrenching. The government is trying to balance the books, but the cuts they are having to make are not popular and they may well be out after the next election, replaced by a bunch who tell the electorate what they want to hear - namely that there'll be peeing au de cologne into solid gold sewers. In theory you can get a 40 year bond at zero percent, but in practice almost nobody qualifies.

Read lots of newspapers from wherever you are thinking about. You may find that a lot of problems that we have here turn out to be common in other countries. It's true that we have problems here, but a lot of them turn out to be universal (or at least not confined to Africa). And our banks are in good shape.

Chocklit_Thunda

Well I did mine in springs and passed the first time. It was quick to get the booking. No bribes were mentioned at all. It was a proper drivers test hey... No bells and whistles.... She made me do the yard test and then said to drive round the streets. She didn't say a word to me until the end. "You passed." Then walked away ? it was better that way IMO.

I did go through a school (my mothers cousin owns one) so is like to hope that there wasn't any shady dealings going on...

Ray

X-rated Bob wrote: And our banks are in good shape.

And so they should be. They rip the stiff out of us.

But anyway, back to the driver's test. Be willing to part with a little cash and all should be OK. Pay it to the instructor person or pay it to the tester. The latter will work out cheaper.

Chabenda

Or would you like me to get you one here? ?

Badapple

Well I live in Cape Town, Strand. I booked in Gordons Bay, went for three lessons and passed comfortably with no effort. If the system around your area is corrupt just pay the buggers and get it over and done with.

:goodtimes:

epictring

I understand its no better overseas. Please excuse me as I was posting while still in anger (honest mistake).

I will probably never go overseas, they have other problems there as well. I did go for over 6 lessons, and has been told my driving is fine, I know I will pass eventually, corruption just angers me.

Everything happens for a reason.

Bob-Dubery

It's long been the case that being able to drive is not enough to pass your test. Passing the test requires you to drive in a specific way (not a way that pleases your dad and allows you to get your mates home in one piece) and to do things that maybe we should do bu don't - EG the checks on various aspects of the vehicle. The examiner (the word I was reaching for yesterday but couldn't find in the recesses of my slowly crumbling mind) may seek to confuse you, and his presence might be enough to start some people sweating.

If you HAVE been approached for a bribe and didn't go along then good on you. Corruption takes two, and the less people that play along with petty corruption eventually the less inclined people will be to try it.

It's a bad thing. 30 odd years ago I knew a guy who bought and sold 2nd hand vehicles. He always sold with a roadworthy and I couldn't understand how he got them so quickly and without seeming to do any work on the car. He said "oh... there's a certain queue you have to use at Langlaagte (the testing grounds in Jo'burg) and you have to leave a bottle of J&B under the passenger seat." Terrible business when you think about it, as these two people (my friend who sold and the so-called tester) were willing to put a dangerous vehicle on the road for a bottle of whisky. That's the real problem with this stuff - cars and people that shouldn't be on the road can end up on it.

Bob-Dubery

Chocklit_Thunda wrote: I did go through a school (my mothers cousin owns one) so is like to hope that there wasn't any shady dealings going on...

If there was, you weren't party to it.

The thing about driving schools is that they know how the test is passed and can teach you that. Too many youngsters get a learners, get some lessons from dad, and once they can change gears, stop and start and know the common road signs they're off for the test. They've got no chance.

Neon-Gecko

In the early 90's, in Pinetown I made the mistake of telling my driving school of choice that I would only need a few lessons as I had been driving since around the age of ten and knew what I was doing. After failing twice and never even making it outta the yard I put two and two together and realised that the school was intentionally teaching me a few wrong things in the hope of me having to use them for an extended period, and thus make more money outta me.

I changed schools, the bloke saw that I could drive and gave me 3 intensive lessons on what to expect. This time not only did I make it out of the yard and onto the public roads, but I passed with flying colours. Using a driving school is a given with the K53 test, using a good school is a must...

Bob-Dubery

I never thought of that one! It kind of mirrors my own experience donkey's years ago. I was signed up with one school and felt I was doing OK but they assured me I needed lots more lessons. I tested and failed and they said "more lessons". I got fed up when a "lesson" amounted to picking up some woman that the instructor fancied and driving her to his house. So I parted company with that school, but I still had no license. Looking back, maybe his only interest was keeping me coming back for more lessons.

I'd been to see a friend in Ferreirasdorp and was walking down Market street. There was a sign advertising driving lessons. I walked in and realised I was in the wrong place. Everybody was black. But one of the tutors walked up to me, smiled and said "there's no law against sitting in a car together. Let's go for a spin." After going round a couple of blocks he said "you can drive, we just need to teach you to pass the test." I liked him. He was nice, friendly, open sort of guy. I signed up.

6 weeks later we drove down to the testing grounds, and what I related earlier unfolded. I walked in to some office, where the instructors could not go, put my name on a list, got called and as I walked out with the examiner my instructor "asked for a word". He said "good luck" very loudly and obviously and then told me the rest quietly.

Tokai-SA

I got my army "Bedford" drivers license in Kimberly in 1979...I drove the Bedford for half a kilometre, that was the test.
There were 40 of us in the Bedford, we did a 20 klm round trip and we all got our licenses. ?

Then I was transferred to One Maintenance Unit, Voortrekkerhoogte/Pretoria.
We had a Captain who was screwing a chick who worked at HQ Pretoria Central.
One night I was on guard duty and the Captain comes to me and says he wants me to drive to HQ, fetch her and bring her back to our unit so he could screw her in his office...he had no shame. :?
I said, Captain, I don't have a drivers license, only a Bedford army license.
He said, fock dit, just go fetch her and tomorrow I'll arrange a license for you because I'll need you to fetch her for the next few months.

Next day I had a drivers license.

My sisters a Gauteng High Court Judge, Senior Council Advocate, and Barrister.
She pleads with me, DO NOT pay bribes to traffic cops, refuse, take their names and report them.
I don't pay traffic cop "buy me lunch" bribes, but I'll tell you something, if I went for a drivers test four times and failed each time because there's some kind of corruption con going on, I think I might buy the license and be done with it.

Warren

I failed mine 3 times, and one of those was for no reason at all. Of course, that was in 1996, but it can be a real pain in the arse.

Don't give up hope, just keep trying. Eventually I used a different testing center, and my mom did a lot of shouting and generally caused a scene, and they passed me ?

I do know that bribes are a problem at the moment though. The young bloke across the road from me paid a bribe to pass his license as he was running out of time as well, so in some cases it seems hard to avoid.

thesayin

The big problem is the guys testing are not really qualified to do so.
They usually fail you on the little things your use of mirrors , observations and pre trip inspection.

Bob-Dubery

thesayin wrote: The big problem is the guys testing are not really qualified to do so.

They usually fail you on the little things your use of mirrors , observations and pre trip inspection

Those are not little things for the K53 test, and use of mirrors is part of good driving.

Now I don't know what this pre-trip inspection involves (though I suspect it's similar to what we used to do in the army). However, I do know that it's required, and if I were going to go for my license I wouldn't tell myself that's a little thing, I'd tell myself that if I foul the up I'm going to fail and I'd make very sure I knew what is required and that I perform the inspection rigorously on the day.

You can't ignore requirements of the test and then complain that the problem is that examiners aren't properly trained.

Use of mirrors has long been an important aspect of the test - at least in Jo'burg. You're in that yard, and you know there's nobody else around and the examiner knows that there's nobody else around you better still check your mirrors. And really, that's not such a stupid requirement. Yes... I know that once we've been driving for a couple of years we only use the mirror to check out the bokkies on the back seat, but that doesn't mean that that's what they're really for.

Sean

I'm often amused (and saddened) by how a number of my colleagues will complain vigorously about corruption in public services and local and national government. Yet, these are often the same people who quite proudly boast about bribing traffic officers to avoid receiving tickets for speeding or other transgressions.

Don't become part of the cycle, really, it's a slippery slope.

vic

X-rated Bob wrote:
thesayin wrote: The big problem is the guys testing are not really qualified to do so.

They usually fail you on the little things your use of mirrors , observations and pre trip inspection
Those are not little things for the K53 test, and use of mirrors is part of good driving.
Now I don't know what this pre-trip inspection involves (though I suspect it's similar to what we used to do in the army). However, I do know that it's required, and if I were going to go for my license I wouldn't tell myself that's a little thing, I'd tell myself that if I foul the up I'm going to fail and I'd make very sure I knew what is required and that I perform the inspection rigorously on the day.

You can't ignore requirements of the test and then complain that the problem is that examiners aren't properly trained.

Use of mirrors has long been an important aspect of the test - at least in Jo'burg. You're in that yard, and you know there's nobody else around and the examiner knows that there's nobody else around you better still check your mirrors. And really, that's not such a stupid requirement. Yes... I know that once we've been driving for a couple of years we only use the mirror to check out the bokkies on the back seat, but that doesn't mean that that's what they're really for.

Jaaaa....some drivers use it in early morning rush hour to do make-up....serious ?
The drivers' test is very involved with sooo many things to remember...it becomes almost robotic. Unfortunately ? few newly graduates continue to apply ALL the things that were part of the test...

Bob-Dubery

Sean wrote: I'm often amused (and saddened) by how a number of my colleagues will complain vigorously about corruption in public services and local and national government. Yet, these are often the same people who quite proudly boast about bribing traffic officers to avoid receiving tickets for speeding or other transgressions.

Don't become part of the cycle, really, it's a slippery slope.

The great moral corrosive of this day and age - and not just in SA - is the attitude that everybody else does it so it's OK for me to do it too. That drags society downwards. Better to play the game the way we want it to be played than to play it the way that think everybody else does.