Drivers Licence renewal.

Max is five year renewal here.
The computerized thing is probably what is happening here. Up until last year, one got their photo licence, after about ten minutes. (time to print it)

Ron,

How long has the 10 yr option been available/
I use the 5 yr one myself and have done for some time. I didn't realise there was a 10 yr one available.
But yeah, it sure beats a lot of hassles.

Cheers
Pop

Pop, Interesting point. I renewed mine last on 3 Jan 2007 and it's valid until 2nd Jan 2017 - so the 10 yr option was available then.

However, a quick check of DOT W.A. finds that 5 yrs is now the maximum renewal time.
That's something that was slipped in under the radar, I'm glad I did mine for 10 yrs!

Renewing your MDL - W.A.

Cheers, Ron.

Just had a quick look at mine. Good until June 2016 so ok for a while yet.

Cheers
Pop

Mailman arrived ten minutes ago. Guess what was in it? My new licence. Posted from Forbes.
Now my concern is, what would have happened if I was out travelling? Someone would have had to collect my mail. Go through it. Go to post office, and resend it to where I might be in a few days more. Several days later I might get it.

Many of us I believe are doing bills electronically to get away from this reposting bit.

Lucky it only happens once every few years.

Its called organization.

Make a list of what needs to be done while you are away and sort it out before you go.

We recently went overseas for 9 weeks Had car reg and insurance, body corp fees, rates, water etc all had to be paid while we were away.

Sat down and did the Bpay thing for future payments and all was sweet.

Of course if you need things like your licence you would have to be organized earlier to get it in time.

Also the car reg figure wasnt available accurately so we just overpaid a bit and it will sort out next year.

Never look at the expiry date on a licence, and as far as i'm aware, can't do them before the renewal paperwork is posted.

Most of our standard stuff, power, water, Telstra, etc are auto deduct but the car and van rego can't be done like that apparently.
As we can opt to pay 3, 6, 9 (I think) or 12 months we will organise so they fall around Xmas time when we are always home.
Anything else we just transfer funds into one of our kid's bank and they sort it.

Cheers
Pop

Hi SDG,
I got my licence renewed 6 months before the old one expired.
Just went in and told them that I was going to be in another state when the renewal was to be paid. They gave me another licence with 5 years 6 months before it expired.

SDG, a mate was was heading off for a 3 month trip and his rego and licence was going to be due while he was away.

He went to the RMS (RTA) here in NSW to advise them and see what could be done and had them both renewed ahead of time. He was telling me that he was told they can be done up to 3 months in advance so it may pay to talk to them if you are planning on being away when they are due.

Interesting that Andy says that he had his done up to six months in advance. What state are you in Andy, is that NSW or elsewhere?

Cheers, Bruce.

Hi Bruce,
I'm in NSW and was at Port Macquarie RTA in 2013.

Another little matter with ones licence is that (in NSW) when one turns 75 a medical is required to maintain the licence even though actual renewal could be some years hence.

For travellers the medical can be undertaken up to 6 months before the birthday which is what I did a couple of years ago.
However I arrived home 5 weeks after my birthday to discover my licence was cancelled, no ifs or buts, I had not completed the medical.

I fronted up the RMS feeling a little upset, I had returned the medical form but somewhere in their system it was lost.

A phone call to the medical centre where they had photocopied and recorded the information put things in order, but the fact remains I had been driving for 5 weeks with a cancelled licence which would not have been a good look if I had been police checked for whatever reason.

The last 2 years, and I will this coming winter before our trips, make sure the medical form is up loaded into their system before I leave.
mike

Mike, thanks for the heads up.

A mate who worked for "Which Bank" told me many years ago that if dealing with Govt. departments always keep the originals and only give out copies, if possible, of everything you give them otherwise when they lose it and then give you a hard time for not complying and will not admit their mistake.

In business and in retirement I have found that advice to be a good standby.

When submitting electronically see if you can get a receipt number for every transaction or at least keep a record. This will have them by the short and curlies.

They often do not know what regulations they should be dealing with, for instance;

We had to get a road permit to take the brothers motorhome to Taree to get the engineers compliance plate fitted to the vehicle after the engineer had given it a psss on the LH drive to RH drive conversion we did.

We had previously been granted a permit to travel to Taree and back in the same day, no problems, on two previous occasions.

On this last trip he was refused the return journey even though the return would have been about 2 hours after the forward journey as the engineer merely had to affix the compliance plate to the vehicle.

Try as he may the RMS officer behind the counter would not comply so we gave up trying and walked out with a one way permit.

Went home and looked it up on the RMS website and there it was, you can have a permit from A to B, you can have a permit from A to B to A again, or from A to B to C to D and so one as well as several other alternatives to numerous to mention here.

Phoned the RMS head office, "Oh yes you can have many different combinations, and yes the website is correct, leave it with me and I will contact the offending officer and sort it and phone you back in the morning".

In the morning we were on the road to Taree with only the original one way permit when the call came from RMS HO.

"Sorry, but the original permit for the one way trip will stand. "You will need to attend the RMS office in Taree to get the return permit."
Another fee, not that money was the issue here. The $25 is of no consequence, rather it is the messing around they put you through.

They were not going to admit an error by one of their own I assume.

We got the return permit and the motorhome is scheduled for rego inspection sometime this month.

As I say, they do not always know what they should know, as they are the ones making the decisions.

Cheers, Bruce

Allan,

Here in good ol' Wait Awhile we are now 3 hrs and I lost count of how many decades behind but our state guvmint seems to be able to find "speed of light" methods for collecting their pint (or should that be liter??) of blood.

Cheers
Pop

Allan, I though it was, "you front up with a brown paper bag with cash in it, and hey presto, you have a brand new licence!"
No need to sit all that test stuff! LOL

SWMBO & I were walking over to stepdaughters place yesterday to check on it (she does FIFO), and guess what!
Yep, a couple of of the "sub-continental types" were doing some learner teaching - but no need for that L-plate stuff or anything to do with legally getting a learners permit!
Just get in the car and go teach your mate how to drive!

We did also wonder if the bloke doing the teaching had an MDL, anyway! LOL

Cheers, Ron.

Ahh Ron, What did Barbara Streisand sing? ........ The Way We Were?

Batt's - There's a reason behind the slowness. If the authorities take their time, it gives them a chance to cross-check any documentation and ID presented.

Crooks find ways to slip fraudulent stuff through the gaps they find in the authorities processes - and if something like a new MDL is handed over fast without adequate cross-checking, it gives the crooks a chance to hightail it pronto, and start on more fraud within the hour - with the new fraudulent MDL that gives them cred.

An MDL is a crucial document that is used by nearly everyone to ID the person, and no-one expects to have a fraudulent MDL presented to them.
Everyone has to provide an MDL to open new bank accounts, licence vehicles, get CC's, and a host of other important things.

If a crook is made to sweat out a wait for an MDL while they cross-check everything he's presented, or done recently - then that's so much less chance of a fraudulent MDL getting through, because they will pick up the dodgy stunts he's pulled.

A simple renewal should be straightforward, but in this day and age of regular ID theft, even info presented for a renewal needs to be cross-checked.
Admittedly, computers make it all faster - but quite often, computers between various depts aren't linked, and people have to be asked to cross-check info against other databases.

Cheers, Ron.

So if I get this right then the authorities doing the documentation checks and computer cross checks were done faster 24 yrs ago than what NSW has today yeah it's all making sense now lol. On a different note if they were that particular and thorough then I wonder why it took me 3 years to convince the rta the number plates from a vehicle I crashed and wrote of were in their possession and not mine and I never received an apology. Also the vehicle I own now was originally registered as a 3 row 7 seater wagon then it was converted to a twin cab ute 2 row 5 seater and had a few inspections done for the mods completed by the previous owner and they didn't pick up on that until I pointed it out 6 years after the conversion. Also I have a HC licence which they have marked down as EC when I pointed that out they didn't really care yes their very thorough "NOT"

Batt's.
I will walk into the Queensland DMT office this week and walk out with a renewed licence. I know what times to go, so I shouldn't have to wait long.

There is only two downsides to this.

I will be $154 lighter in the pocket for the 5 year licence and the major one is the new photo, I will have aged 10 years in less than an hour. Bugger!!!!!

Batt's - Yeah, there's nothing like major bureaucracies to cause major stuff ups. I have several "expired vehicle" registrations still logged under my name, and most of the vehicles were scrapped long ago.
Number plate return is one area the authorities have never got a proper handle on.
I don't understand how they could turn an HC endorsement into an EC endorsement? That is a concern, but it's up to you to ensure details are correct.
The instant you receive an incorrect endorsement, you should be straight around to them to point out the difference between new and old.

Slow one - They always joke that your passport photo should resemble what you look like after a 17 hr non-stop flight! - and your MDL licence should resemble your appearance right after you've been pulled up for a minor offence by a particularly nasty cop! LOL

$154!! Yow! It looks like QLD has lost its status as the cheap-to-live state!

$128.70 for a 5 yr renewal in W.A. - and it's half that, if you're a pensioner!

Cheers, Ron.

"If the authorities take their time, it gives them a chance to cross-check any documentation and ID presented. "

Ron, pity they don't take their time over the register of stolen vehicles....

Scott, property theft always rates very low on the scale of importance to authorities - their priorities are always aimed towards murders, serious physical assaults (including rape), drugs, gang warfare, terrorism, illegal firearms - then if they have some time left, they'll have a look at theft and major fraud. [:-(

They always regard theft as something insurance can deal with - and a failure to address theft properly is a big part of what is wrong with our policing.

Years ago, the W.A. Police reckoned 85 hard core offenders were responsible for 98% of the car thefts in W.A. They reckoned if they could lock the whole 85 up until they changed their mindset, they would reduce the States car theft rate to virtually nil.

However, the judiciary have this industry to run - servicing their "clients" - and it's not in their interest to lock people up for car theft, so they tell us. (insert rolleyes icon here)

We were always amused at a couple of episodes in Kalgoorlie many years ago. One bloke seriously assaulted another bloke for no particular reason, and got off with a good behaviour bond.
A little later on, a bloke smashed the window of a magistrates car with a hammer - and he got 6 mths in the jug!
Nothing like being a judicial "victim of crime", to produce a satisfactory penalty! LOL

People say the NT is backwards, up here you can do a few things like just renew it online, or walk in give the paper work to clerk and ask them to renew your licence then and there, they even ask if you want a new photo, if you don't the process is 5 minutes quicker.

If it is done online they just send it to you because your photo is kept from last time, so it is just printed onto your licence, no need for you to even leave your house.

Ron, I know .... case in point though - my brother had a motorcycle stolen in Nowra a few years back (stolen off HMAS Albatross would you believe..) reported to Police and RTA the vin / engine # / all the details including identifying marks etc.

About 4 years later while on the lot of the local Motorcycle shop he thought one of the bikes looked suspiciously like his stolen bike - quick check - had the original vin and all the marks he'd reported - it had been registered & sold twice since it had been stolen..... turned out that given the last owner had bought it "in good faith" - my brother wasn't eligible for refund or return - the owner of the M/C shop did the right thing and gave him half the sale price.

It ain't rocket science.....

Ron,
WA is a lot cheaper at $5 a year but I bet you don't get a set of stone dine cook wear for being one of the first 25 through the door with a purchase over $100. LOL.

From the time I walked in the front door of the transport department till the time I walked out was 7 minutes. Crim photo taken and my bribe money handed over, I even got a receipt.

They have changed it from last time I renewed my licence and you have to wait up to a fortnight for them to post it out.

At least the licence is free if you are a pensioner in NSW

One problem in NSW, Five year licence is good BUT if you are over 75 you have to have a medical every year. The medical has to be on the sheet from the RMS [RTA], this is abloody pest if you are in another state.

PeterH

In W.A., you don't need to undergo a test or medical until you're 80.
I think the actual age when your deteriorating faculties become a driving problem, is something that varies a lot between individuals.

There's people around 60 that I know that I fear to drive with - and there's people in their late 80's that I know, that are still very alert and capable.

An old bloke aged 99 came to visit us last year - he drove himself in the near-new car he bought, when he was 95!
He said he asked the salesman before he bought it, if the car would be good for 15 yrs! LOL

Ron N,
you wrote,
"Crooks find ways to slip fraudulent stuff through the gaps they find in the authorities processes - and if something like a new MDL is handed over fast without adequate cross-checking, it gives the crooks a chance to hightail it pronto, and start on more fraud within the hour - with the new fraudulent MDL that gives them cred".

I remember about a year ago the cops did a raid on some premises or other owned by a particular immigrant ethnic group and found that they had a NSW photo licence machine which had been stolen from an RTA office here in NSW somewhere.

As you say, there would be some very good reasons why they post the licences out now. I imagine the first one is to verify that the person is actually connected to the address given.

Cheers, Bruce.

Bruce - Drivers licence fraud is one thing the authorities are always worried about.
The card-making technology you can buy "off the shelf" continues to be a problem to the people who oversee drivers licence security.
The cost of a licence keeps going up purely because of the amount of anti-fraud technology the authorities have to develop to beat the crooks.

In all states, the bikie gangs specialise in corrupting employees in the licencing depts, so they can manipulate the info in the database and manufacture fraudulent licences and vehicle regos.
All it takes is for a bikie to befriend a girl in the dept and go to work on her.
Before long she's loyal to the boyfriend and he's using her to carry out his schemes.

Fortunately, the authorities are wise up to the bikies tricks - but they still have to be particularly diligent and watch out for internal fraud.
The bikies are exceptionally cunning in that they will use an "associate" rather than a "patched member" to carry out departmental fraud.
So the authorities will be watching the patched bikies, but they fail to find the low-level associate who slips through.

QLD drivers licence fraud discovered

A mate tried to tell me once how a local bikie gang weren't a problem, they were really just good businessmen who enjoyed bikes! He went on to tell me how many of them had controlling interests in so many local businesses, so they really were upstanding members of the community.

I then reminded him about how the local bikies rock concert was a always a roaring success - until the authorities discovered that a concert that attracted 15,000 people at $20 a head, regularly produced a $2,000,000 profit! - in cash, of course!
Can you say, "money laundering"? LOL
The Police finally nailed them on Liquor Licence charges and shut the concerts down for good!

Cheers, Ron.

Yeah Ron I did check the details out on my licence and when I pointed it out they didn't really care they just said if someone checks it like a coppa it will come up as HC. It's too big a hassle for those lazy buggers to make a simple change they would probably want to charge me for them to correct their own typing error you know how it is so I left it and haven't had it questioned by a cop yet in the past 3 yrs.