Driving license | Pay holiday of nearly $ 185 in 2022 and 2023

(Montreal) Given its “improved” road record – 10% to 12% fewer serious injuries were recorded on Quebec roads last year – the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) will offer a “leave to pay” holders Driving licenses for 2022 and 2023 up to approximately $ 185.

Henri Owlet Vizina
Journalism

“For me, this money is owned by the motorists. […] All this will bring, I dare hope, a strong economic recovery for those who will be able to take advantage of these discounts, ”confirmed Friday morning the Minister of Transport, Francois Bonardell, during a short press conference in Montreal.

This payment holiday represents a savings of $ 184.11 for Class V driver’s license, i.e. a passenger car driver’s license. For motorcyclists, the discount applied would increase to around $ 154, which is in stark contrast to the amounts they have had to pay this year.

The measure, which affects 6.4 million Quebecers, is made possible thanks to the $ 1.2 billion capital surplus released last year by the SAAQ. This “financial strength” is said to be attributable to “higher investment income than had been expected over the past ten years”.

Thus, renewing a driver’s license should only cost $ 23 next year, on average. All driver’s license holders will only have to pay the $ 4.75 fee and the $ 18.60 fee listed on their renewal notice.

However, one exception remains: drivers accused of bad behavior will have to continue to pay “a portion of the insurance contribution for deficiencies recorded in their file,” a range that can go up to roughly $ 450.

A road report is under preparation

SAAQ President and CEO, Natalie Tremblay, indicated Friday that it will present “in the coming days” the Complete Road Report for 2020 in Quebec as its teams work to improve the latest situation. Of which. the details. But the preliminary results are already emerging.

For critically injured people, we’re talking about a 10-12% reduction. In dollars, this represents about $ 250 million in cost reductions for the plan, ”she explained. Minister Bonardell spoke of a variation of“ 10 to 30% ”for serious and light injuries, indicating that the reduction in minor accidents was more pronounced.

Last June, Prof. The SAAQ Partial Road Safety Report for 2020 already showed an 11.2% decrease in the number of “seriously injured patients requiring hospital treatment”, between January and October. “The impact is still significant,” said Mr. Bonardell, when asked about the decrease in the number of vehicles on the roads in the wake of the pandemic. Fortunately, there were fewer accidents in 2020, and that is reflected in surplus capital. ”