The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) started rolling out the new generation of smart driving licenses in April 2018.

The new NTSA smart digital driving licenses look almost like the National ID and contain personal data including your Blood Group. The digital license has a secure computer chip containing the driver’s information, which can only be readable through special electronic gadgets which will be owned and managed by NTSA officials.

A key feature of the card is the points system that sees points deducted for every traffic offense committed. The technology will encourage good driving habits and reduce the cost of motor vehicle insurance.

Currently, NTSA is in talks with insurance companies to facilitate a new premium pricing model that will partially rely on smart driving licenses to enable them to reward good drivers with lower premiums and raise those of bad drivers. NTSA has a centralized database profiling driver behaviour where repeat offenders shall lose points to an extent of having their driving licenses suspended temporarily or confiscated for good.

Other penalties include on-the-spot fines and/ or attending mandatory refresher driving classes. NTSA Director-General Francis Meja revealed that transactions for instant fines would be cashless in a bid to tame corruption.