Closing the Circle !

In the distant past the annual car registration procedure in New South Wales required a visit to a RTA office and these were known for their incredible length of queues - and surly and unhelpful administrative staff.   But at least you knew that your vehicle was legally registered when they handed you that all important sticker to afix to the windscreen.

Today, the age of computers have shortened that procedure.  When you contact a Green Slip provider online or by phone and pay by credit card your cover is transmitted electronically to the registering authority within seconds.   If your vehicle is older than four years you need to visit a registered motor mechanic for a safety check and exactly the same procedure notifies the registering authority.   There is now no need to visit an RTA office or stand in a queue because the entire procedure can be concluded with the click of a mouse or a telephone call.

Unfortunately, there is a missing link in this registration process.   In this state over four hundred thousand drivers are required by law to have an annual  medical check as part of their driving license procedure.  This is an automatic requirement for those who reach the age of seventy-five and for others certified as suffering from a range of diseases that include epilepsy, sleep disorders and diabetes.

Those that pass this medical examination by their general practitioner - which includes an eyesight test - are handed their report and have the responsibility of presenting it to the licensing authority.  They must either take it to an RTA office or put their trust in the postal system.   There is no procedure in place to automatically advise that it has been received and recorded.

Now very welcome moves are underway to link these medical tests to the licensing authority in the same way that green slips and pink slips travel electronically.   It is surprising that this has not taken place sooner because all doctors are linked electronically to Medicare and the equipment is already in place to streamline this service.

There is no doubt that this electronic world leaves a niggling doubt in the minds of many elderly car owners and drivers that their requirements have been fully met.   In the past, this was given confirmation by the issue of the registration sticker, but now that has been discontinued there is no visible certainty that their vehicle is legally registered.   That can be checked by accessing the RTA website and entering the registration plate number, but such a check is not available to those who have yet to gain computer skills.

It is not unknown for car registration and driving licenses to be erroneously cancelled or for SNAFU's in registration to occur.  Both registration and medical check confirmation can be easily verified by a simple procedure.   The last stage of car registration takes place when the mechanic submits the safety check to the RTA and they confirm that the green slip of compulsory insurance is also in place.  All it would take is for an official print out to be handed to the car owner certifying that the car is now registered, which should also be the procedure when a required medical check has been lodged electronically at the doctor's office.

A simple but necessary procedure to prove all correct in this paperless age !