Fraud trainers behind rash and risky driving

50 out of 218 driving schools in city have expired licenses

Next time when someone suddenly twists his vehicle while you are driving or overtakes from the wrong side on the busy city roads, better blame his driving instructor rather than badmouthing the erring driver.

There are 218 driving schools across Hyderabad district, of which 50 of them run the schools with expired licenses issued by the transport department, according to information procured through RTI by the Society for Safety of Public and Good Governance.

For those like Jigyasa Sharma (name changed on request), going to a driving school meant having theory lessons, comprising the road rules and more. But to her utter embarrassment, she was asked to sit behind the wheel the first day of training itself.

“When I was asked to drive, I had requested for a female instructor to teach me, but that wasn’t the case. From the day one I was taken out in the traffic, and the instructor was just handling the parallel pedals that were in the vehicle. That is how my driving lessons went on. I just learnt that overtaking from the left side is against the traffic rules.”

For a few who had to give a practical test to acquire their licenses, the car at the test track was given by shady driving school operators. “They had tied a wire to the gear rod to ensure that the vehicle remained in the first gear only. The engine used to roar every time I hit the accelerator. I was told that this was how tests were done and I could go for an automatic vehicle, after I got a license,” said Apeksha, a resident of Narayanguda.

It was not just the practical test that they had to ‘cheat’ their way through, even for the learner’s permit, they were asked to sit behind a computer, while someone from the driving school filled in the questionnaire.

Despite repeated attempts, officials of the Telangana state Road Transport Authority (RTA) were unavailable for comment.