Several hundred thousand drivers could have problems getting new licences

Czech daily Mlada fronta Dnes reported on Saturday that one and a quarter million Czech drivers have a licence that is due to expire by the end of this year and that transport authorities are probably not going to be able to issue all of them with new licences by January 31st. If this happens, drivers will not be allowed behind the wheel until new driving permits are issued. The paper estimates that several hundred thousand drivers could be affected. The Czech Ministry of Transport has been criticised in some quarters for not coordinating a nationwide campaign to highlight the problem so as to avoid a situation whereby local authorities are inundated with "last-minute" licence applications near the end of the year.