Thursday is the last day of the driving licence renewal grace period.

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has already warned that there will be no further extension of the grace period and motorists who drive with expired licences will be penalised.

South Africa has a backlog of 1.3 million expired driving licence cards.

Measures have been put in place to ramp up the production of cards, and government hopes to clear the backlog by the end of June.

RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane has advised motorists who miss the deadline to obtain temporary driving licences. 

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"Motorists are warned that law enforcement agencies will from this week go out to strictly apply the law against those with expired driving licences.

"No excuses will be entertained as the government has extended the validity period for these documents on numerous occasions and implemented extensive measures to assist motorists who wish to comply.

"Driving with an expired driving licence card will also have negative consequences in case of collisions as insurance companies may decline claims made by drivers who failed to renew their cards," says Zwane.