On March 1st 1998, motorists in South Africa were introduced to the new driving licence format which replaced the licence printed or affixed to pages in the ID books.

The new licence is termed Credit Card Format as it resembles in shape and size, a conventional bank credit card. The term Credit Card Format is abbreviated to CCF.

From March 1^st 1998, all drivers who obtained their licences for the first time were issued with the CCF licence. All licence holders were obliged to convert their, ID-book licences, with the new CCF licence. In the case of private motorists, the conversion period was five years. In the case of professional drivers (i.e.: those who drive any goods vehicle larger than a pickup ("bakkie") and passenger vehicle with 12 or more seats or transport passengers for profit, (business or financial gain)) the period was two years .

Several factors have motivated the introduction of the CCF licence:

Since it became mandatory for drivers to carry their licences with them when driving a vehicle on a public road, ID documents have proved to be cumbersome and difficult to store in wallets, purses and pockets. The CCF licence is more durable, much smaller, simpler and far easier to carry.

Owing to the unacceptable level of fraudulent and forged driving licences in South Africa, it has become necessary to introduce CCF driving licences which are virtually impossible to forge. The CCF licence incorporates a number of advanced security features which are so difficult and costly to copy or reproduce that forgery should be eliminated.

Technology has advanced to a point where the production of the CCF licence is not only secure, but relatively inexpensive. Given that the security features of the card incorporate some of the most complex and intricate technologies available in the world today, economies of scale will ensure that the card is affordable to motorists. (For details of the costs, see Paragraph D.5 below).

The system will allow for the introduction of a far more effective traffic policing and management system, particularly in the recording of de-merits for offending drivers. The Department has reached an advanced stage in the consultation process for the introduction of a points de-merit system.

Dangerous driving offences on public roads will result in points being allocated with the possible suspension of the licence once a set number of points has been reached. This de-merit system was NOT introduced from 1st March 1998, but is likely to happen as soon as the Department has seen how effectively the entire system is working.

Numerous factors and implications were considered prior to approving and launching the CCF licence. Amongst others, these include:

1. Existing Road Traffic Legislation and Regulations (including the entire Driving Licence Sub-section) had to be amended as there have been modifications to vehicle classification and intended use.
2. Agreement has been reached with appropriate transport and traffic administration authorities in all Southern African Development Community states (SADC) for the CCF licence format to be the standard within the SADC. Other SADC members are in the process of designing their own CCF licence systems. Holders of CCF licences will be permitted to drive appropriate vehicles in all SADC member states.
3. Cost factors and the department's insistence that the taxpayer must not be burdened with any of the expense associated with the new system, meant that companies tendering for contracts had to agree to numerous requirements. This was achieved via a comprehensive tender process facilitated by the State Tender Board. The department believes that a cost recovery programme involving road users (drivers) is the most appropriate and fairest way of recouping expenditure. Suppliers and service providers will carry all initial capital development costs. This strategy is described in more detail below (Paragraph D.5).
4. Infrastructure and administrative processes had to be planned and implemented to accommodate the necessarily complex and detailed switch-over - not only in South Africa but across all SADC member states. In South Africa, for example data referring to existing driving licences was stored on the Population Register, and largely inaccessible to most traffic and transport authorities. This data has now been transferred to the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS), a facility which now ensures far easier, more convenient and accurate transition to the new system, as well as future management of licenced road users.

D. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

1. A decision was taken to allow most of the functional management and administration features of the new licensing system to be performed by private companies and contractors. The department believes this philosophy to be prudent and has lead to better efficiency and productivity, and more importantly not burden the taxpayer. Furthermore, this philosophy encourages meaningful black economic empowerment in a private sector context, and indeed the provisions of the tender required that the successful contractor implement such empowerment programmes.
2. The tender was awarded to Face Technologies, a member of the Denel Group of Companies. Subsequent to the award of the tender, approval was granted to form a joint venture company called Prodiba (Pty) Ltd, which has the following shareholding structure:

Face Technologies (Pty) Ltd 33,33%
Kobitech (Pty) Ltd 33,33%
Thomson CSF Holdings 33,33%

Face Technologies will be responsible for the management of the facility.

The card production technology will be provided by Thomson CSF(under IDMATICS).

The fingerprint verification technology will be provided by SAGEM/MORPHO from France.

Kobitech will staff the administration of the manufacturing facility .

3. The capital development cost to the department is virtually negligible, as Prodiba has agreed to finance the capital costs which amount to R265 million.
4. Applicants will pay an issuing fee for the CCF licence to their issuing authority and a percentage of this fee will be paid to Prodiba in accordance with their tendered price. Prodiba will recover its investment over the 5 year time-frame, and there will be no burden on the taxpayer.
5. The issuing fee will cover the cost of producing the card and the surcharge by the licensing office for their own administrative costs. The expected charge to drivers will therefore be between R100.00 and R168.00, depending on the surcharge levied by the licensing office which issues the licence.

The programme became legitimate from 1st March 1998, when the new legislation was effected. It becomes functionally operative from Monday 2nd March 1998.

1. Anyone issued with a licence for the first time from 1st March 1998, will be issued with the CCF licence.
2. All current driving licence holders will be obliged to convert their driving licences to CCF licences. In the case of private drivers the period is five years. In the case of professional drivers the period is two years. For professional drivers, emphasis in the first year was on drivers of all goods and passenger vehicles, except drivers who were licenced to drive busses and taxis. In the second year, emphasis was on bus and taxi drivers.
3. The Implementation Schedule will be based on the month of birth of drivers. For example, all drivers born in January were given a set period during which they had to convert their licences. The same was true for respective birth months. It was expected that four to five months will be required to convert licences for each respective birth month category. (Hence the proposed 5 year implementation -- 5 months X 12 birth months = 60 months in total.) Drivers who failed to meet the deadline of their particular implementation schedule were charged an additional administrative fee. The Minister of Transport announced the Official Implementation Schedule (based on drivers' birth months) after the draw took place in the first week of February 1998.
4. The programme was national from day one.

F. PRACTICAL ELEMENTS AND PROCESS

This was the procedure for obtaining the CCF licence if you were an existing driving licence holder, and when the Implementation Schedule for your birth month (see Paragraph E.3.) was relevant.

1. All drivers whose licences in the ID book were legal and whose details were therefore on the NaTIS database, would apply for the CCF licence at any authorised driving licence testing centre (DLTC). Therefore, a person who obtained his / her driving licence in Johannesburg, but who later resided in Cape Town, would make application at the Cape Town DLTC or at any other DLTC which was convenient to them.

EXCEPTIONS: Drivers who obtained licences in former TBVC states or self-governing territories and who have not had their data recorded on the SA Population Register, consequently did not have their licence data on the NaTIS register either. These licence holders must apply to the office where their original licence was issued, as official records will be housed in these offices.

2. Drivers must apply to the licensing offices IN PERSON. They must bring following with them:

1. Original driving licence contained in the ID Book /Document
2. TWO passport-sized photographs of HIGH QUALITY, and which measure 40mm in length and 32mm in breadth. Photographs may be colour or black & white.
3. First-time licence applicants must bring FOUR photographs.*(see paragraph 7(iii) below.)

3. An appropriate application form is to be filled in, and image scanning sheet (onto which the photographs will be affixed) will be completed in duplicate.
4. The applicant will provide imprints of two finger-prints and signature specimens on the image scanning sheet and its duplicate.
5. All holders of identity document type driving licences were not required to undergo any driver test, but all applicants will be obliged to undergo, and pass, an eye test.
6. Applicants may choose (in addition to English) to have the licence issued bearing the details in one other official language.
7. The applications will take 30 days to process and applicants will be advised of the availability of the CCF licence by means of a post card. Upon receipt of this notification, applicants must call IN PERSON to the licensing office where the application was made, to collect the new licence. Applicants must bring the following:

1. The notification post-card.
2. ID Book / Document
3. As first-time licence holders will have to wait 30 days before the CCF licence is made available, they will be issued with temporary driving permit by the testing authority. As two photographs are also required for this permit and its duplicate, first-time applicants must bring FOUR photographs with them to their driving test.

G. IMPLICATIONS OF THE NEW LICENCE CODES

Owing to the standardisation of licence codes across the SADC territory, the old licence coding system was abolished at midnight on 28th February 1998. The new legislation made necessary provision for the new coding system, and this had significant implications for all drivers, particularly first-time applicants.

1. In the case of existing licence holders, their current licence code will be matched with the equivalent code of the new system. All drivers who were licenced for code 08 (light motor vehicle) were relicenced code "EB" which permitted them to drive a car and to tow a caravan which exceeds 750kg Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), (provided that the towing vehicle does not exceed a GVM of 3500kg). Under the new coding system, drivers with just a "B" code may only drive a car with a GVM of less than 3500kg, and may tow a trailer with a GVM not greater than 750kg. It follows then that as caravans normally exceed 750kg GVM, drivers with a "B" code may NOT tow a caravan behind their vehicles.

EXCEPTIONS: Professional Drivers. There are two classes here - firstly those who drive goods vehicles with a GVM in excess of 3500kg, and secondly those who drive passenger vehicles with a seating capacity of 12 or more persons. New legislation regarding Professional Driving Permits was implemented during the first year for all drivers except those who were permitted to drive busses and taxis, and during the second year for such drivers .

2. First-time applicants will be required to undergo tests in precisely the vehicle (or vehicle combination) which they intend to use under that licence. For example, a private car towing a caravan is now considered a new class of vehicle and has the code "EB". A private car exclusively has the code "B". A person who is tested driving only a car will be authorised to drive a code "B" vehicle, and therefore may not tow a caravan behind such car - only a small trailer not exceeding 750kg GVM.

EXCEPTIONS: Practical considerations have been taken into account. Unconventional vehicles such as earth moving machines and agricultural vehicles may prove difficult to bring to a testing facility. In these cases, applicants are expected to arrive for their tests in a vehicle which at least matches the GVM, approximate size and composition of the vehicle they intend to drive, when it will be possible for the examiner to assess the competence of the applicant in handling a vehicle typical of this configuration, size and mass.

H. OBJECTIVES OF THE CCF LICENCE AND CONSEQUENT BENEFITS TO ROAD USERS

The CCF licence represents a quantum leap in the management and administration of transport and traffic in South Africa. Apart from the convenience to motorists, the project has several important objectives and benefits which will quickly be achieved:

1. Despite the initial capital cost which will be carried exclusively by vehicle users, on-going management and administration is far more efficient. The department expects that such efficiencies will significantly reduce traffic management costs in the medium to long term.
2. Roads will be far safer with the number of illegal drivers diminishing significantly in a relatively short period. The CCF licence is virtually impossible to forge, and attempts to do so are immediately apparent to traffic officials and police.
3. The corresponding computer system is highly sophisticated and allows officials to call up complete histories of drivers within minutes. This makes for easier and more effective policing of road users, who will soon appreciate a more responsible approach to driving.
4. The entire system, CCF licence, computer administration and the NaTIS database will demonstrate its worth in measurable terms reducing costs and road accidents, which not only cost lives, but billions of rands to this country's economy. A 10% reduction in the annual vehicle accident rate will save our economy more than ten times the money it cost to set up this system and administer it in the first year.

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