Unlicensed hauliers face truck confiscation

Credit card licence warning Anna Cox HEAVY TRUCK drivers who have failed to convert their licences into the new credit card format by May 1 face not only heavy fines of up to R1 000, but also arrest in Gauteng. MEC for transport Khabisi Mosunkutu announced last week that no mercy would be shown to drivers who had failed to convert their licences. They would not only face fines, but would be forced to abandon their vehicles on the roadside and find alternative transport. The fines for heavy vehicles in Johannesburg and the West Rand are R1 000 for vehicles under 16 500 tons and arrest for extra heavy vehicles. In Tshwane the fine is R500 and in Ekurhuleni (East Rand) it is between R500 and R1 000. “Our message to those who do not bother to convert within the five-and-half-year period is to stay off the roads until they have a valid licence,” he said. The national department of transport last week decided to extend the March 1 deadline after some 1,2 million drivers, of which 400 000 are in Gauteng alone, failed to convert their licences.