Vehicle Documents, Licensing and Roadworthiness
What this domain tests
This domain tests whether the vehicle and its driver are legally fit to be on the road - the paperwork side of Code 3 work.
Driver licensing
Learner's licences are coded: Code 1 for motorcycles, Code 2 for light motor vehicles and Code 3 for heavy motor vehicles. A learner's licence is valid for 24 months and must be renewed if it lapses. The driving licence itself is a card, valid for the term printed on it.
Professional driving permit
Anyone driving a goods vehicle or bus for reward needs a PrDP, which requires a valid driving licence, a medical certificate and a police clearance. It is issued for a limited term, expires on its own date, and must be carried.
Vehicle documents
- Registration certificate, the vehicle's proof of title.
- Licence disc, renewed annually and displayed on the windscreen.
- Roadworthy certificate: required on change of ownership and periodically for heavy and public-transport vehicles.
- Operator card for goods vehicles used for reward.
- Insurance details and the prescribed emergency equipment.
Worked example
An 8 000 kg GVM truck is bought to deliver furniture for a client for payment. Reasoning: it is a goods vehicle above 3 500 kg GVM carrying goods for reward, so it needs an operator card, and the driver needs a PrDP as well as the correct licence code. Registration and a valid licence disc are separate, additional requirements.
Traps
Assuming a Code 2 licence covers a heavy truck; letting the licence disc expire because the vehicle is seldom used; forgetting that a PrDP is separate from the driving licence and expires on its own date.