The Hindu : Steps to streamline driving licence system

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 04, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Steps to streamline driving licence system

By S. Anil Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM May 3. The National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC) has asked the Government to establish driving training schools in important centres where there is concentration of vehicles and transferring the issuance of driving licences from the Regional Transport Offices to such schools, streamlining the licensing system and to make all driving tests more objective.

The recommendations are among those made by NATPAC as a study on "Working of driving schools in Kerala'' have revealed that majority of the schools in the State does not have adequate infrastructure facilities and that they are not functioning as per the provisions of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

The present practice of mass production of drivers through the mushrooming driving schools and easy issuance of licences without rigorous driving test need to be changed, as per the study carried out by the Chief Project Coordinators, Mahesh Chand and V. Rajagopal, under the guidance of the Director, T. Elangovan.

The officials of the Motor Vehicle Department have been asked to stop functioning of the unauthorised driving schools and urged to initiate stringent punishment measures against them. By employing competent trainers, by imparting suitable training to drivers and by strictly enforcing traffic rules and regulations, the accident due to driver's fault can be minimised in the State.

The accident rate for accidents in Kerala is 18.2 mishaps per 1000 vehicles compared to the national average of 8.3 accidents per 1,000 vehicles. Most of the fatalities on roads are attributed to driver's faults, poor road condition, ineffective traffic management and lack of awareness among road users.

According to the published data of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, almost 85 per cent of the accidents were caused due to the fault of the drivers in most of the States. In Kerala, the share of the drivers' fault in the motor vehicle accidents was 98 per cent of the total cases reported.

The study was undertaken by NATPAC as adequate information was lacking about the training facilities and quality of training being imparted in the driving schools in the State from where these drivers are getting their initial training.

The NATPAC has recommended that standard specifications for the minimum floor area required for driving schools should be laid down in the Motor Vehicle Act and a unified training fee system should be adopted to encourage the competition among driving schools for providing better infrastructure facilities.

A centralised medical centre, including computerised eye testing, has been mooted in every district headquarters for assassin the physical fitness and vision of driver trainees.

The NATPAC has recommended that the viva part of the driving test should be made comprehensive by including questions on traffic rules, first aid treatment and technical know-how of the functioning of different parts of the motor vehicle.

Conducting driving test on a separate day for trainees who want to obtain the licence earlier has been suggested to solve the excessive delay in appearing for driving test. Extra fees can be collected from these students by the department.

The department and the RTO officials have been urged to ensure that the registered driving schools are engaging only qualified trainers who have adequate driving experience as specified in Rule 24 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.

The Government should grant recognition to certain medical institutions to impart first aid training courses and to make it mandatory for the instructors of the driving schools to undergo a certificate course in the recognised institutions.

The department has been asked to organise lecture classes for the trainers in driving schools from time to time to make them aware of the differences in the performance and operating characteristics of new technology and old technology vehicles.

The Motor Vehicle Inspectors and the RTO officials have been asked to periodically visit all the driving schools at least twice in a month to check whether they are functioning according to the provisions of the Central Motor Vehicles Act.

Another major recommendation is that vehicles more than 20 years old should be banned from entering the road as they could not perform and control as effective as new technology vehicles and as they are the major contributors of atmospheric pollution.

Instructors below 60 years of age should only be allowed to impart training to driver trainees in driving schools as age of the driver plays a major role in the driving behaviour.

Separate identity cards have been mooted to the trainers employed in recognised driving schools to ensure presence of qualified trainers. Structured lecture classed by the department officials or visiting faculty on traffic rules and first aid has been mooted for all driving schools in a particular area.

The NATPAC has recommended that the "H'' test being conducted for the four wheeler driver trainees should be made more objective and effective by adjusting the spacing between the iron bars according to the type and size of the vehicles used.

Intensive training programmes have been recommended for autorickshaw drivers as they have a significant role in road accident scenario. Compulsory training in first aid for drivers of ambulance vehicles of recognised government and private hospitals, health centres and other medical institutions have been recommended to ensure the safety of the accident victims.

The driving schools should not have any branch in the place of their location and there should not be any inter-dependency among the schools. All driver trainees have been urged to undergo formal training in any recognised driving schools.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

E-Governance: Corporation awaiting Govt. nod

Sporadic violence mars hartal

Sex racket busted

IT made a compulsory subject

MCH CT scanner develops snag

Steps to streamline driving licence system