It found that 59% of licensed respondents claimed to know people who bribed an official to get a licence and just 30% said they did not know anyone who used bribery to get a licence while 11% were unsure.
The cellphone survey by Pondering Panda was conducted among 2,768 people aged between 18 and 34. According to the survey bribery occurred mostly in Limpopo, where 77% of respondents claimed to know people who bribed officials. In the Eastern Cape, the figure was 70%.
Western Cape respondents were least likely to make the claim with 49% saying they knew someone who had bribed their way to obtaining a licence.
Of total licensed respondents, 30% said long waiting times were the main reason for bribery, while 28% said traffic officials would fail applicants if they did not receive money.
About 32% of applicants said the test itself was too difficult and this resulted in bribery while 81% of all respondents - licensed or not - believed there was corruption in traffic departments.
Pondering Panda spokesman Shirley Wakefield said the survey showed bribery and corruption were endemic in traffic departments.
"The fact that the majority of young drivers claim to know someone who has obtained their driver's licence by bribing an official should be very worrying for the government," she said.
"South Africa's roads are already among the most dangerous in the world and new drivers who have not passed their test are only making the situation worse," she said.
Source: Sapa via I-Net Bridge
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