Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Obtaining driving licence may become tougher

HYDERABAD: Youngsters applying for driving licences may soon be asked to sit through a three-hour session and awareness drilled into them about the effects of alcohol, narcotics and psychotropic substances while driving under their influence.

Also, licencing systems will be made stricter and heavy vehicle drivers seeking renewal may be asked to go through a three-day refresher course on road rules, said Transport Commissioner Raymond Peter.

These and related subjects came in for discussion at a national conference organised in Jaipur by the Institute of Road Traffic Education attended by senior transport and police officials recently. In brainstorming sessions, the fact that 80 per cent of road accidents were caused by human error had come in for discussions.

Following the workshop, the Transport Commissioner said the department was drafting proposals to this effect for a nod from the Government. Drunken driving (on two and four-wheelers) was alarmingly on the rise specifically in urban areas, considering the way the BPOs and pub culture was mushrooming, Mr. Peter said.

He said human error was responsible for a whopping 99 per cent of accidents in Chandigarh and Rajasthan. Closer home, it was 98 and 93 per cent in Kerala and Karnataka respectively, while it was 75 per cent in Andhra Pradesh, he said, citing a report submitted to the government by a Committee on Road Safety and Traffic Management in February, 2007.

Recommendations include the need for political will, constitution of a Parliamentary Advisory Committee/Council to continuously appraise Parliament of the solution to road transport safety and support the process of legislation reforms, amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act & Rules in the country, a comprehensive monitoring system for driving training and for technology to be leveraged in the process of driver testing and vehicle testing.

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