Your drivers licence renewal procedure is probably much the same anywhere else in South Africa as it is in East London. I renewed my drivers licence in East London in May 2012, and this is what the procedure was:

ps, important:
you do NOT need to have drivers licence photos taken before you go to the East London Traffic Department (in May 2012 anyway);
and, go for your drivers licence renewal, and eye test, at the East London Traffic Department, at least 6 weeks before your current drivers licence expires

Drivers Licence Renewal Photos
Thinking that renewing my drivers licence this time would be much the same as the last time I renewed it in East London 5 years ago, and also the same as the procedure when Tony renewed his drivers licence in East London last year, off we went to Pollocks Pro Photo in Vincent Park for my new drivers licence id photos (cost R50.) We had to wait about 15 minutes after having the photo taken, and browsed around at nearby shops in the meantime.
We only found out at the East London Traffic Department that we could have saved the R50 spent on these little id photos.

Drivers licence renewal id photos taken, paid for and collected, we went to the East London Traffic Department two days later, on a Friday morning, 18 May – we parked in the East London Traffic Department parking lot at 8.17am.

Get and fill in your drivers licence renewal application form
Into the first door at the East London Traffic Department, on the left if facing the building, and somebody immediately helped us by asking what our requirements were and then pointed us to the correct queue to stand in – we were first in that queue. I handed over my id book and drivers licence.

I asked if they needed my drivers licence photos I’d had taken at Pollock Pro Photo in Vincent Park too, or if I’d only be handing them in at the next room when I did my eye test. Was told I didn’t need the photos, as the new procedure was that your photo was taken at the same time that you did your drivers licence eye test, included in the R216 drivers licence renewal fee.

R50 wasted at Pollock Pro Photo two days before.

I told the traffic department that they should inform the East London photography shops of this new procedure so that the photography shops could tell anybody who approached them for drivers licence photos that they could save the R50 (price at Pollocks Pro Photo anyway) as the photos were done at the same time as having your drivers licence renewal eye test done (at the East London traffic department, anyway.)

They agreed it was a good idea that they inform the East London photography shops about the new drivers licence renewal id photos procedure.

The same man that had pointed me to the correct queue helped me fill in my drivers licence renewal application form. This was a tremendous help, and I much appreciated it. The form has many fields that don’t need filling in, and a lot of time was saved with the man pointing to each field that did need filling in. You don’t need to take your own pen, as there are a few pens on strings at the counter at the back of the room.

Then out the door to outside, and into the next room.

Waiting for your drivers licence renewal eye test to be done
5 little benches against the walls, one each against 3 of the walls, and two against the wall right in front/opposite of you as you walk in – each can seat 3 people (only just-just, seating 2 would be more comfortable) and one seat seats 2 people, I think, can’t remember now, maybe they all seated 3 people each, but definitely 5 of those little benches – if all 14 or 15 places are taken, you would queue out the door, standing, before getting inside and being able to sit. As you enter the door, if the seats are full and you feel bewildered as to where to sit, just ask the people already there, or immediately head off to your right, as, if the room is full of people waiting to do their drivers licence renewal eye test, that’s where the last person in the seated queue sits. If seated there as the last person in the queue in a full room of people, the door to the drivers licence eye testing room would be just off to your right (your back would be against the wall behind which the drivers licence renewal eye testing takes place.)

As each first person in the queue is called into the eye testing room, everyone shifts up one place to their left, one place closer to having their own eye test.

There were 11 people ahead of me on those seats. Some had blue forms. My drivers licence renewal form was green. I wasn’t there for long when an East London Traffic Department staff member called the ones with blue forms out, as those blue forms were for other things and not for drivers licence renewals. This helped shorten the queue considerably as 5 people had blue forms.

Before the people with the blue forms were called out of the queue, the room was so quiet, everyone just sitting there, and I felt giggles bubbling up inside me as a feeling of surreal absurdity threatened to cause those internal giggles to escape. Although a poster on the wall that said “do not bump pedestrians by accident” had me wondering if my drivers licence renewal would help me bump pedestrians on purpose, and very nearly caused me to laugh out loud, I managed to remain quiet, like the rest of the people in the room.

Once the blue form people were gone from the queue, people were a bit more lively, chatty and friendly (unless they chose to chat only to prevent themselves from giggling.)

It was eventually my turn. Tony was sitting just outside the room reading the paper.

The eye test, thumb print taking, and photo taking
Through the door (which was now to my left) and into the barely remembered drivers licence eye testing room I’d last been in 5 years before. I still had the feeling that everything seemed a little absurd, or as if I was dreaming. There were three sort of divisions (or was it two?, I think I remember sitting down at the middle one, the only vacant seat one, so it must have been three.)

Tiles on the floor and a typist chair with wheels that didn’t stick was the setting – I tried to sit still so I didn’t slide about all over the place – made some sort of joke about the slippery situation, but got no response from the lady in front of me, at the other side of the desk. She was checking through my forms.

Then it was time to test the eye test tester machine.

Instructions were to put my forehead against the machine and look through the goggles-like two eye things. Place my hand on the “computer game” joystick thing beneath the eye testing machine.

Saw nothing, but black. Oh (insert whatever word) I’ve failed my eye test already.

Then suddenly there were two little blocks that I could see, sort of stuck to each other – I realised those two little blocks were supposed to be one, so I tried to push my forehead right through where it was touching (couldn’t but I tried), and focus my eyes a little better – aha, two blocks became one.

An “M” no hang on I think it was an “E” that would either be just like that, or upside down, or facing to the right or facing to the left. Instructions from the lady that when the “M” or “E” I saw before me was facing in one of the 4 directions (up, down, left or right) I was to push the joystick in the same direction. Did the little testing of the eye test thing and moved onto the next testing of the eye test thing, where I would move the joystick only left or right, if I saw a flashing light with my peripheral vision at the outside corner of my eye (was irritating not being able to turn my head and actually look at the light flashing, but I could see it at the outside corner of my eye (left eye or right eye, as only one side flashed at a time) and that’s all that seemed to matter.)

That was just the testing of the eye testing machine, then more of the same for the actual eye test. The little white blocks with the letter got smaller and smaller (or just the letter in the little white blocks) and I’m almost sure they throw that last one in as a joke, even if as a sick joke. No joystick movement from me for that last one, just an “oo-oo-ooooooooohhhhh” out my mouth.

Then it was time for fingerprints – no longer messy like it used to be, just put thumb on a glass thing that scans your thumb print – hope you can’t get radiation poisoning from that thing.

Then time for the photo THAT THEY TAKE:

Slide back in chair a bit (now I was allowed to slide around a bit) and look at the camera right next to the eye testing machine on the very friendly (not) lady’s desk.

After the photo taking she asked me if I had other photos.

?

I said yes, I can get from my boyfriend Tony outside, but that I was told I hadn’t needed them. She said not to worry and used the one she had just taken.

Now I was told I could go (and I felt released more than relieved), and I took my form, went into the waiting room, out the door, collected Tony and his newspaper from the outside-the-waiting-room door bench and went back into the first room I’d been into to fill my drivers licence renewal form in – which now also had a photo of an abused female convict on it.

Now I knew why the lady had asked me if I had other photos with me. Why couldn’t I have used the photos I’d brought with? The photo Pollocks Pro Photo had taken was so much better (or at least I looked better in it) (but a waste of R50, although I wouldn’t have minded paying R200 instead of R50 for that drivers licence photo if it had been the one the East London Traffic Department had put on my form instead of the one that they did put on the form – and that photo of abused-looking convict-looking me is going to appear on my drivers licence for the next 5 years!)

Paying for your drivers licence renewal
The same man that had helped me fill in my drivers licence renewal form earlier showed me to join the correct queue to pay for my renewal. There were only 2 people in front of me. Thank goodness because the air-conditioner is right there on the far right of the room too, and it was blasting COLD.

R216 paid, and receipt received, and was told to come and collect my drivers licence 4 weeks later. I think it’s taken longer before, so that’s why I said go renew your drivers licence in East London at least 6 weeks before your current one expires.

Back in the car in the East London Taffic Department parking lot at 9.20am – an hour and 3 minutes later.

It’s a schlepp, but just get it done, and over with, as soon as possible. Thank goodness it (so far, anyway) has to be done only every 5 years.

© Copyright Teresa Schultz 2012 and 2013