The promised 10-year validity for driver’s licenses will be rolled out on October 2021. This was announced by land Transportation Office (LTO) Assistant Secretary, Edgar Galvante during a virtual briefing.
The LTO hopes to use this as an incentive to promote good behavior on the roads. Only drivers with no violations during the validity of their last license will receive 10-year validity on their next renewal.
“Yung pagpapalawig ng ating lisensya hanggang 10 years, mangyayari ito starting October 2021 pero hindi lahat ng drivers license possessor ay makaka-enjoy nitong 10-year validity ng license lalo na kung mayroon siyang demerit point. (The extension of our license’s validity for 10 years will start in October 2021, but not all those who have a drivers’ license will qualify for this, especially if they have earned demerit points),” said Galvante.
A driver’s record will be determined by a system of demerits. These also determine how many hours of driving seminars a driver will have to take upon renewal. Only drivers with no demerit points will be awarded the 10-year license. Traffic violations are assigned a certain number of demerit points depending on the traffic offense. Light offenses will get one demerit point, less grave offenses get three, while grave offenses get five. grave violations include driving a motor vehicle used in the commission of a crime, driving a colorum vehicle, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, among others. The demerit system was implemented by the LTO in 2019.
These violations are then uploaded and tallied by the agency in its system. The total is checked when renewing their license. Upon renewal of the license, the LTO says that demerit points are brought back to zero.
“Hopefully, this measure will help reduce road crashers, as well as traffic accidents which usually cause injuries and even deaths,” the LTO chief pointed out.
