Gotta tell you what happened to me...

[Clouder]

So here I was, heading out on Holiday in Toti.


We would spend 1 night in Winterton (at the In-laws’ house), and then 2 nights in Pietermaritzburg (Sister In Laws’ house) and the finally head town to Toti.


On the day we left, we were very happy about going on a well-deserved Holiday and as a Law Enforcement Officer, and Law Abiding Citizen, I kept to speed limits and just enjoyed the ride.


Minding my own business, in the middle of the Van Renen Pass, I see my rear view mirror being filled with flashing blue lights and I have to say, it felt awkward to be on the receiving end... LOL


So, I pulled over. Stopped, got out, and was approached by a very nice young lady. “Morning Colleague” I said. She stopped. Colleague? Where are you from?


So, I explained and she explained why she pulled my over.. My vehicle’s licence disc expired in JANUARY!!! In complete disbelief, I went and checked, WRAGTAG! I serviced the car, put new tyres on it but never realized the disc expired AND, we have eNaTis at work, but NO I never checked!


Anyway, now, I had a problem.. You cannot renew a licence for a GP registered vehicle in KZN. I can’t go anywhere, I'm going to get fined. If there are any roadblocks, I’m going to get fined..


So when we were in Pietermaritzburg, I went to the Licencing Offices to hear if there’s anything they can do for me and the answer was, no.


So finally, I had to get @Casper to go and renew my vehicles licence only to find that my other vehicle and my bike’s licences would be expiring end of June as well. So, he then had to renew all of them and then ship my vehicle’s licence to me in Toti. Cost me a bloody fortune, But I was very happy that he actually helped me. Thanx Boet.

WHAT A MISSION!!


Moral of the story, Check your licences!

 

[boxerulez]

LLOL Your department stops sending out notifications and YOU yourself forget. Funny.

At least it worked out for the best.

 

[Casper]

Pleasure @Clouder

I must agree with @boxerulez, It is a very bad thing that licencing decided to stop issuing reminder notifications!!

I just realized yesterday that mine actually ALSO expired already!

 

[wiesbang]

I had the same problem. My fine was more than the license itself lol

 

[shaunnadan]

I had the same problem. My fine was more than the license itself lol

How much Was your fine ?

A few years back I had been pulled over at a Christmas season roadblock. a week prior I had settled all outstanding tickets I hadnt been drinking and my car was in sound Condition So was confident that I would breeze through..

To My shock the cop tells me My disc was expired since Sept. I explained that I never get reminders and it was an honest mistake and the cop told me that the fine to follow from the licencing office was punishment enough. He let me go on the condition that I came to see him the next day at the station.

So off I go to pay in the morning and when I got to the front of the line the teller was so very disappointed in me. She told me that I was going to have to pay the fine and I shouldn't be so reckless.... So I asked her what it was and she told me it was 65 rands of which she was serious about me just wasting.... I paid with a smile and then drove to the cop shop to show of my new disc.

Ever since that day I have loaded reminders on my Google calender so I don't have an issue with any of the 5 vehicles.

 

[wiesbang]

How much Was your fine ?

A few years back I had been pulled over at a Christmas season roadblock. a week prior I had settled all outstanding tickets I hadnt been drinking and my car was in sound Condition So was confident that I would breeze through..

To My shock the cop tells me My disc was expired since Sept. I explained that I never get reminders and it was an honest mistake and the cop told me that the fine to follow from the licencing office was punishment enough. He let me go on the condition that I came to see him the next day at the station.

So off I go to pay in the morning and when I got to the front of the line the teller was so very disappointed in me. She told me that I was going to have to pay the fine and I shouldn't be so reckless.... So I asked her what it was and she told me it was 65 rands of which she was serious about me just wasting.... I paid with a smile and then drove to the cop shop to show of my new disc.

Ever since that day I have loaded reminders on my Google calender so I don't have an issue with any of the 5 vehicles.

License was 300 ronts and some cents and the fine was about 400bucks iirc

 

[picautomaton]

Based on the excellent track record and reliability (not) of the SAPO we no longer receive any notices or other use friendly reminders. That four month strike last year killed the SAPO. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Glad you had a mate to assist.

 

[Silver]

Glad you got sorted in the end @Clouder

I was stopped on the way to the airport about a year ago and my license disc had also expired. It was a routine roadblock and when the cop saw my disc had expired he got quite excited.

I was actually quite late and an extra 20 mins or so would have meant I might miss the plane. I started explaining this to the officer and he then caught a glimpse of the Reo in my car centre console and said "Whats that!" - oh well, you can imagine how I felt at that point.

In the end, we spoke for a few minutes about vaping and luckily he was a smoker but quite a young strapping lad that appeared to be health conscious. So I explained a few things to him and he let me go and asked me to renew my disc when I get back. I made the plane

Moral of story - put in the reminders like @shaunnadan does - and dont leave too late for the airport. You never know who may stop you and ask for a full explanation of vaping on the way

 

[Cespian]

Man, I had too many of these events! The most memorable was the most recent: On my way back from Plett 2 years ago I got a fine in Swellendam. My driver's license expired and was 6 months overdue (also received no reminder). Hefty R1000 by the "friendly" officer. With my luck, and a few disgruntled hours on the road, another road block as we were exiting Strand/Gordons Bay area. Luckily the second officer was understanding that I had already received a fine and let me go with the classic "make sure you sort it out, young man" phrase.

Naturally, after a long holiday, I start unwinding and thinking about the unnaturally sized Rain Spiders I had to battle in Plett (I think I saw a health and mana bar hovering over one of them) I forget about the fine and go on with life. No issues sorting out my driver's license, and no issues purchasing my new car beginning of last year. This year however, I tried renewing my license and get told, "sorry sir, you have a warrant on your name, go sort it out". After battling with the traffic department in Plett (at one point I had to send a fax - I mean, what's a fax? are we back in 2003?), a month had passed, the fine had escalated, and got a final bill of R2400 (R1500 for the fine and R900 (R200 extra) for the late license).

An addition to @Silver 's Moral: Set reminders for Drivers License as well and pay your fines immediately.

 

[Casper]

Good grief, these okes are makin A-HELL-OF-A-LOT of money for doing squat!