How to renew your South African drivers license

Hi. Are you the Sue Plumbridge who used to teach science at Westerford in the 1970s. Tim Truluck, Matric Class, 1979

Just got back from parow traffic department. Arrived at 11:45 (approximately). Left at 14:15. The line to get the renewal form was quite quick, about 10min or less. The line for the eye-test and fingerprinting was the holdup. Two staff in the room, with an eye-test machine, finger print scanner, and signature tablet. That whole process took 5 minutes. The time it took to get TO that room… NOT WORHT THE TROUBLE! There were about 15 or so people ahead of me in the queue, and these staffers take 15 min per person. When questioning a cashier, while waiting in line, I was told that ‘the machines are slow’, but that there IS someone in the eye-testing room… When another queuer questioned a different staffer, he was told that there were new systems and machines in place, and that the staffers were not trained on the systems, hence the long wait… Every person was grumbling and groaning in the queue over the unnecessary wasting of our time. Also, what they DON’T tell you when you finally MAKE it to the eye-testing room, is that the digital photo they take is the one that goes ON YOUR CARD! By the time I got to the cashier, I saw the digital photo, and I asked the cashier to confirm which photo would be used. NOT the one you take by the ID kiosk outside, they only use ONE of the four, and this they paste onto your green form. I literally blew my top. After all that waiting, and irritation, to be told this. I paid for my renewal and walked out. Then I got called back, as I didn’t get my receipt yet. The cashier was irate as she was talking to me and I had “just walked away”… ya right, I thought she was done… Then a whole screaming match ensued… Its not her fault we stand in long queues… She doesn’t do eye-testing and its not her problem, its mine. By now, I’m over the top mad at all of them! Then it was down to “if you keep up that attitute, we won’t process your forms”… to which I replied “you don’t have that power, you just work here (that highly amused her…) . I said they just will, I had already paid for my forms, and they WILL process it!”. To which she replied “I can give you your money back… “. Finally I left, highly upset at all these irresponsible incompetents… And they get away with it, is adding insult to injury. I thought I would contact their supervisor and lay a complaint. About 10min later, I get a call FROM the supervisor, asking me how could I speak to her cashier like that… THATs when I told her of the long delays, FOR SUCH A SHORT QUEUE, its disgusting!!! She asked why I didnt find out what was causing the delays, to which I replied that I had, so did another and 2 different reasons were given. The manager seemed to understand all the frustration that led to the eventual blowup with the cashier. However, I will NEVER return to this traffic department. Effecient and professional MY FOOT! ( as an aside, when I finally got into the eye-testing room, the other lady helping the gentleman next to me, was on her cellphone, having a long discussion about banking transactions, and something to do with her son, WHILE the poor guy was waiting to get his eye-test done… how’s THAT for professional…)