XN000022-1974-07-05 — Page 7

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FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1974

INTRODUCTION OF LAMINATED DRIVING LICENCE CARDS

MOVES A STEP CLOSER

AN AMENDING BILL TO ENABLE THE PRESENT BOOKLET TYPE OF DRIVING LICENCES TO BE GRADUALLY REPLACED BY HANDY LAMINATED LICENCE CARDS WILL BE INTRODUCED INTO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL SHORTLY.

THE PROPOSED LAMINATED FORM OF DRIVING LICENCES WILL PROVE MORE CONVENIENT TO LICENCE HOLDERS AS WELL AS TO THE AUTHORITIES, ADHINISTERING LICENCE RECONDS.

FOR LICENCE HOLDERS, THE LAMINATED LICENCE CARD WILL BE MORE DURABLE AND MUCH EASIER TO CARRY. IT WILL ALSO REDUCE THE CHANCES OF FRAUD AND DAMAGE.

AT THE SAME TIME, THE SCHEME WILL HELP CUT DOWN MANUAL WORK AS IT WILL BE TIED IN WITH THE COMPUTERISATION OF THE HUGE AND GROWING NUMBER OF DRIVING LICENCE RECORDS, WHICH HITHERTO HAVE BEEN MANUALLY MAINTAINED.

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THE BILL, THE ROAD TRAFFIC CAMENDMENT) (MD. 2) BILL 1974, WHICH WAS GAZETTED TODAY, SEEKS TO PROVIDE CERTAIN LEGAL CHANGES THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR IMPLEMENTING THE SCHEME.

UNDER THESE CHANGES, ENDORSEMENTS AND DISQUALIFICATIONS ORDERED BY A COURT WILL BE ENTERED IN THE COMPUTERISED RECORDS AND NOT ON THE LICENCE ITSELF.

AFTER THE BILL IS PASSED INTO LAW, IT IS INTENDED THAT THE LAMINATED LICENCE CARDS WILL BE ISSUED ONLY ON INITIAL ISSUE, RENEWAL OF DRIVING LICENCES OR ON CHANGE OF PARTICULARS OF LICENCES. THERE WILL BE NO GENERAL CONVERSION OF THE BOOKLET FORM OF LICENCE TO A LAMINATED ONE. AS IT WOULD BE IMPRACTICABLE TO COPE WITH THE NUMBERS INVOLVED, IT IS NECESSARY TO STAGGER THE PROCESS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT SAID TODAY: +THERE ARE OVER 450,000 DRIVING LICENCE RECORDS WHICH HAVE HITHERTO BEEN MANUALLY MAINTAINED, AND THE NEED TO COMPUTERISE THIS ENORMOUS AND GROWING NUMBER OF RECORDS HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNISED.+

HE SAID PREPARATIONS FOR COMPUTER ISATION HAVE NOW BEEN COMPLETED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND THE DATA PROCESSING DIVISION.

+AS A BY-PRODUCT OF THE SYSTEM, ALL FUTURE NEW OR REPLACEMENT DRIVING LICENCES WILL BE ISSUED AS A COMPUTERISED PRINT-OUT AND LATER LAMINATED TO PREVENT FRAUD, HE SAID.

IN RECENT MONTHS, HE SAID, DRIVING LICENCE HOLDERS MAY HAVE ALREADY OBSERVED THAT, UPON RENEWAL OF THEIR DRIVING LICENCE, SUCH A PRINT-OUT WAS ATTACHED TO THEIR LICENCE BOOKLET. THIS IS AN INTERMEDIATE STEP READY FOR FUTURE INTRODUCTION OF THE SCHEME. HE ADDED.

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