The Solomon Island’s Government in partnership with New Zealand Aid Program has funded a new electronic transport management system which will move the Solomon Islands from a paper- based manual driving and vehicle licensing system to a computerized and automated Driving and Vehicle Licence production system.
The new system will allow Inland Revenue to work more closely with the Police and the Ministry of Infrastructure Development to ensure the safety of vehicles and that only authorized drivers are on our roads.
The Inland Revenue, as the administrator and issuer of driving and vehicle licenses, will be replacing the paper based driving licenses with plastic credit card-sized driving licenses. The new driving license will contain a photograph of the holder of the license and the classes of vehicles that a driver is licensed to operate.
Driving licenses will be available for one, three or five years. A discount will be offered for those who prefer to hold a three or five year driving license.
Starting from 1 July 2014, new vehicle registration plates will be issued to all vehicles with the exception of G, X and Diplomatic plated vehicles. The new plates will have black lettering on a yellow background to replace the current black and white plates.
The new plates will make it easier for the Police to identify unlicensed and unregistered vehicles.
For business vehicles, such as taxis and buses, the new vehicle license will include on it the Business Licence number issued by the Honiara City Council or the Provincial Government. This means that a current business license will need to be produced by the owner of those vehicles to enable them to renew their vehicle license.
From February 2014 all taxis will be required to display a taxi sign on the top of their vehicle when they are operating as a taxi – as most of them do now. This will help the public identify licensed taxis that are available for hire.
Also from February 2014, the current regulation that requires drivers to have a clear view of the road ahead will be strictly enforced. This means that all vehicles will no longer be able to operate with tinted front windscreens when the vehicle is being used for carrying passengers on public roads.
Driver and vehicle license fees were last increased in 2009. To assist to cover some of the costs associated with administering the driver and vehicle license system, Government has decided to increase driver and vehicle license fees by an average of 10%.
Source: Press Release, Government Communications Unit