THE recent festive season has brought one important thing to light: drivers and riders are happily taking to the roads without a driving licence. During Op Hari Raya Aidilfitri, 5,713 motorists were nabbed for driving without a licence, out of whom 3,117 were motorcyclists. This habit of driving without a licence, apparently, is especially true among the young. To compound matters, the Road Transport Department (RTD) has found that 40 per cent of all traffic offences were committed by these unlicensed drivers and riders. That the numbers are high is attributed to the fact that they are unable to pass the highway code tests several times and have given up because repeating it is costly. As such, the authorities are considering lowering the cost of a driving licence to ensure that it is not prohibitive, thus encouraging motorists and motorcyclists to strive until they pass.
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