Twenty-one years ago, it cost Martin $2,000 to buy his driver’s licence. All he had to do was prove that he could read. These days, the cost of a driver’s licence ranges from $10,000 to $15,000; and you don’t even have to know the letters of the alphabet.

In 2003, for example, it was estimated that 2,250 taxi drivers across the island were illiterate, but the bulk of them had a driver’s licence. Many motorists have no clue about the road code – they never had to learn them because they skipped the written portion of the test.

Back in 1984, there were no questions about Martin’s knowledge of the rules of the road, simply money changing hands after he proved he was literate by reading aloud from the day’s newspaper. He never started out with the intention to beat the system, he had actually started taking driving lessons when the opportunity to buy his licence simply fell into his lap, he said.

“A good friend of mine was about to go and buy his (licence) and asked me if I was interested and I said, ‘yes’,” Martin recalled.

They left work together during their lunch break and were back on the job within an hour.

The friend, Martin said, took him to a man in Water Square, Falmouth, who was the contact person on the outside. After Martin read the headlines and the first sentence of the newspaper article, the man collected his $2,000-fee and told them to take their documents to a particular person at the Inland Revenue Department office. They had no problems getting the documents processed.

Neither did the 21 year-old Kingston man whom Mark Wignall wrote about in his December 5, 2000 column. The young man’s father had supplied the bribe money that went into the pocket of a man at the Swallowfield depot in Kingston, as Wignall watched from a safe distance. The price tag for a driver’s licence then: $7,500.

One week later, the young man was behind the wheel of a car his father bought him. At the time of Wignall’s article, the youngster had bandages over his eyes and a head wound. He had been in a road accident. He had never had to study the road code because he was told he could “write anything him feel like” during the written portion of the test.

So did Sharon, who paid $8,000 for her driver’s licence in 2001. She had been half-way through driving lessons when a friend told her there was an easier way.

“I didn’t have to worry about taking driving (lessons) anymore,” she said.

The date was set, her friend took her to the examination depot to see a man. He put her to sit in a room where the written part of the test was conducted. She didn’t have to do it.

“I couldn’t do the exam anyway, because I didn’t know the road code,” she admitted.

Then it was time for the driving portion of the test. Sharon spent about five minutes on the road, covering about a half mile. During that time, she managed to upset the examiner by failing to follow a simple instruction to turn right. “But him couldn’t do nutten, him done have mi money a’ready!” she said.

But her sister, Lisa, took a different route. Her driving instructor was the first person who encouraged her to buy her licence, but she flatly refused to pay. “We need to do the right thing!” she said.

After completing driving lessons and getting her paperwork ready, she finally came face to face with the examiner. He failed her the first time. And the second. And the third. In fact, he failed her seven times, before finally allowing her the learner’s permit on her eighth try.

“I guess them get tired fi see mi face because mi neva tired fi go,” Lisa explained.

The legal way

The process of getting a driver’s licence is relatively easy. The problem, however, is that most applicants tend to fail to get their permit on the first try, prompting them to go the easier – but illegal and more costly – route of buying it. Going through the legal process to get a general licence costs about $9,950 if the applicant takes 10 driving lessons at a cost of $400 each.

To cut costs, driving lessons could be done with a friend or relative. For those applying for a private licence, it will be $2,000 less, as no medical exam is required.

A general driver’s licence can either be PPV or non-PPV and allows the holder to drive several categories of vehicles – including trucks up to specified weights. A private licence allows the holder to drive motor cars only, with SUVs such as Pajero and Prado being classified as cars.

To purchase the permit illegally would cost around $10,000. This is in addition to the fees for the learner’s permit, photographs, and licence fee. The $10,000 is to ensure that the permit is granted on the first try. Applicants paying this sum may or may not be required to actually do the driving portion of the test.

The length of time that it takes to secure a driver’s licence the legitimate way varies. If the applicant is a fast learner, then the 10 driving lessons could be completed within a month. All other items could be done in a day or two. If the applicant fails to get a permit (and this is where the frustration sets in) then a new examination fee is required.

Here is the application process, step-by-step:

Action Cost

1 Purchase a learner’s permit at a tax office (lasts for one year) $ 450

2 Do driving lessons with instructor (10 lessons @ $400) $4,000

3 Examination fee (payable at tax office) $1,000

4 Medical exam (only for general licence) $2,000

5 Photographs $200

6 Licence fee (lasts for five years) $9,950