Cape Town learner’s licence tests to go fully digital by February

Learner’s licence testing in Cape Town is set to go fully digital by mid-February, with the City rolling out a computerised testing system across all 18 municipal driving licence centres.

Officials said this will allow for more comprehensive testing and aligns with a national plan to digitise licensing and improve driver competency.

The Computerised Learner’s Licence Testing (CLLT) system, developed by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), replaces paper-based exams with a platform that draws from a wider pool of questions.

“The old manual system, the book system, had a number of questions, but it didn’t test learners on all the questions that are available. There were a number of questions that were previously not available to learners, and now the CLLT poses all of those questions. So it’s a wider variety of road signs, and we now test applicants on all of those,” explained Charlton Majiedt, Acting Director of Transport Administration and Licensing at the Western Cape Mobility Department.

The department said the new system is already reducingturnaround times, as tests are marked instantly, allowing centres to process more applicants each day.

While early pass rates dipped as users adjusted to the technology, Majiedt said results are improving.

“Just like with any new system, we have people adapting to it, so we’ve had lower pass rates. However, we’ve seen those pass rates start to increase, and we hope that in the new year we will see even greater improvements,” he said.

To listen to Charlton Majiedt in conversation with CapeTalk's John Maytham, click the audio below: