Easy licences make roads dangerous
Data released by the ministry of road transport and highways showed that in 2017, around 80% of road accidents in India were caused by valid licence holders
NEW DELHI: Overtaking from the wrong side, inching bumper-to-bumper with the car in front and wrongly navigating the city’s roundabouts — Delhi’s drivers have a lot to learn when it comes to safe driving practices.
But if these basic rules were largely ignored, then how did these drivers get their licences?
The Delhi government has of late started a major crackdown against the growing corruption in regional transport offices by launching dedicated helplines to report cases of corruption. The ease in procuring drivers’ licences in the city, however, was an issue that was ignored for years.
This resulted in the growth of untrained drivers who know little about the rules to be followed once they are behind the wheels.
Till very recently, touts who offered to even appear in tests on your behalf for a meagre payment of ₹3,000-₹4,000, were a regular sight at transport offices.
“We have a no-tolerance policy for touts who take bribes and offer to issue licences. We conduct regular inspections and have also put up boards for the awareness of people to report such activities,” said Delhi’s transport minister Kailash Gahlot.
STARTLING FIGURES
Data released by the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) showed that in 2017, around 80% of road accidents in India was caused by valid licence holders.
A 2018 survey by road safety NGO SaveLife Foundation also corroborated this dangerous trend. Data showed that 59% driving licence holders in India never took a test and thus did not completely understand road safety rules.
Delhi did not fare too well in this test either.
Out of 10 major cities, Delhi stood sixth in the list of drivers who had procured a licence without taking a test. At least 54% of Delhiites, compared to the national average of 59%, claimed to have not taken the competency test while applying for their licences.
UNAUTHORISED DRIVING SCHOOLS
A plea filed in Delhi High Court last year had sought action against around 1,200 unauthorised motor training institutes that had mushroomed in the national capital.
The classes imparted by these private schools are usually spread over 15 days and comprise six to seven hours of training and charge anywhere between ₹ 1,800 and ₹2,500.
A student, who may have never sat in the driver’s seat, is directly ushered onto the busy and dangerous roads of the city on the first day of the class.
“There is nothing to worry. We have full control of the vehicle,” says Hari Lal, a 37-year-old trainer at a driving school in west Delhi. By mentioning control, Lal was referring to an additional set of brakes and clutch fitted into the passenger’s side of the car.
“There is no chance of an accident. I’ll apply brakes the moment a student loses control of the steering,” he adds.
Many students say they feel confident while being trained, but are clueless while taking their own vehicles on the roads later.
“I was caught in a massive jam and just didn’t know how to negotiate my way out. I had to seek the help of another motorist to get out of the situation,” said Deepa Vijay, who was trained by an unauthorised school.
Nitin Kumar, an IT professional, said he found the training imparted to be inadequate. “I had to go through the training a second time because I wasn’t taught how to reverse, how to do parallel parking, how to shift lanes or the right use of mirrors,” said Kumar.
Kumar said he was never taught how to drive a car on a flyover in busy traffic. “There were many important instructions I never received. I took to YouTube videos to learn important things myself,” said Kumar.
But Girish Sharma, president of All India Motor Driving School Association, believes that those trained by even the unauthorised schools are better than those who learn by themselves or are trained by family or friends. He said that barely 10% of all motorists seek training from driving schools.
“The trainers are mostly those who quit authorised driving schools or are awaiting licence. They teach their students about road signs, how to handle practical situations, to ensure there is no one in front of or behind the car when they switch start a car,” said Sharma, adding that even the unauthorised school trainers did more good than bad.
But Sharma said it was necessary that only authorised motor driving training schools were allowed to operate so that only properly trained people were allowed to teach others.
Many learners said that these trainers also doubled up as agents who promised to help them get driving licences easily. “I have to attend the driving test, but I have been assured that I will pass, no matter my performance,” said a learner, who didn’t want to identify himself.
TOUGHER TESTS AND UNIFORM LICENCING
From July this year, all states will have to issue uniform licences with security fea- tures, which will allow police and security agency to access driver information on the spot. Road safety experts, however, said that the need of the hour is to fix the process of licence procurement.
“The process of driver tests needs to be made more transparent. Learners’ tests need to ensure that the applicant knows the basic rules of driving before they hit the road,” said Madhumita Deshpandey, co-founder of Road Safety Records, a Delhi-based research organisation, which focuses on road infrastructure and safety.
Recently, Delhi introduced a one-of-akind automated track test centre in Sarai Kale Khan. The centre makes getting a drivers’ licence difficult by stimulating tougher driving conditions.
Experts also said that certifying driving trainers under government rules will also help ensure the training is up to the mark. In several cities in the United States of America, retired police officials take up the task of training new drivers to ensure that the theory of driving is also mastered.