The Department of Road Transport and Safety (DRTS) has reported congestion caused by people who have recently made bookings for drivers’ theory and practical tests for the next coming months.
The DRTS Public Relations Officer, Amos Motshegwe, revealed that the Department had decided to modify the current arrangement/system that they have been using.
According to Motshegwe, the department has decided that with effect from the 4th of May, theory and practical bookings will only be made on Tuesdays and Thursdays only.
He continued by adding that on every last week of the month, the bookings would be suspended and that last week would be reserved specifically for drivers who want to renew their drivers’ licenses.
“Limited resources in terms of manpower and other resources have compelled the department to come up with this arrangement,” said Motshegwe.
Motshegwe also wanted the public to know that these arrangements would only be
applied in the cities of Gaborone and Francistown only, where the level of demand for transport services is too high.
Following on Motshegwe’s statement on the level of transport services being high in both cities, one might view the closure of the Botswana Railways passenger trains as a major factor in the increase for demand for road transport services.
It seems the new Road Traffic Amendment that came into effect on the 1st of April has also pushed Batswana drivers who were driving without proper drivers licenses to regularise their drivers’ documents.
The new charge for anyone caught driving without a license has escalated to P5000.
According to one instructor at a Gaborone driving school, ever since the announcement that the Road Traffic Act would be approved, business has been overwhelming because the P5000 fine pushed people to driving schools.
“We get so many people coming to us, asking us to book theory tests for them so that they can start lessons immediately after they finish writing the tests, but now it’s so full, if one comes now they give them about two months before they could book them a place to write,” said the instructor.
It also seems a number of people have been caught driving without licenses and a number have had their vehicles confiscated.
The new law also reads that if one is caught driving without a license, their car is to be confiscated on the spot and only upon cash payment would the car be released back to them.
