Only 61% of drivers are licensed - DVLA

The CEO of the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA), Mr. Kwesi Agyeman Busia, has said only 61 percent of drivers in the country are lawfully licenced – and 60 percent of vehicles on the road do not go through proper vehicle-testing procedures.

He said the situation was created by lack of a robust licencing and registration regime as well as compromised road worthy certificates, resulting in uncertified drivers and vehicles on the road posing a threat to national security.

In addition, he said, the activities of middle-men popularly called ‘Goro Boys’ have compromised the driver licencing administration.

This, he said, necessitated introduction of the new ‘smart’ licences, since the old licencing regime, which was introduced about 10 years ago, has lost its value and relevance considerably.

The new Smart Drivers Licence and Smart Vehicle Registration Card will help eliminate fake driving documents from the system, he assured.

Mr. Busia said this at the launch of the new Smart Drivers Licence and Smart Vehicle Registration Card, developed by the DVLA. The event was under the theme ‘Transforming Driver and Licencing through People, Processes and Technology’.

The new smart vehicle registration card and drivers’ licence have enhanced security features such as a Transport Identification Number (TIN), which will enable the DVLA to authenticate the identity of users.

Applicants can also apply online, after which they will be given a date for testing – and this will eliminate the ‘Goro Boys’ from the system.

Mrs. May Obiri-Yeboah, Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), entreated the DVLA to eliminate all administrative bottlenecks in the new licencing and registration regime in order to ensure effective delivery of services to the public.

She gave assurances that the NRSC will support the DVLA in sensitising the public on the new system, saying road safety is a shared and collective responsibility.

The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. David Asante-Apeatu, said the Police Administration and DVLA has a joint task force that checks compliance of road regulations; and gave assurance that the Service, through the Motor Transport and Traffic Department, will work closely with the authority to enforce the laws and improve compliance.

Available data indicate that nearly 2,000 persons are killed on the country’s roads annually, due to the lack of a robust vehicle registration and licencing regime.