The Centre has made changes to the process of getting a learner’s driving licence, which now involves sitting through a tutorial on safe driving, followed by an online test. This new process eliminates the need for the applicant to physically visit the regional transport office (RTO) and present himself before the licensing authority as is the case now.
These changes, notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), follow the stringent changes to procure a permanent licence, which, as per union minister Nitin Gadkari, involves skills such as reverse-parking a vehicle in a limited opening.
“Within seven days of submitting an application, every applicant for a learner’s licence shall complete a tutorial on safe driving electronically on a portal, either accessed by the applicant himself or with the help of a facilitation centre,” said the notification from MoRTH.
Tutorial on safe driving
The tutorial on safe driving shall contain information on traffic signs, traffic signals and road rules and regulations. It also includes the duties of a driver when his vehicle is involved in an accident resulting in death or bodily injury to a person or damage to the property of a third party.
The tutorial will also talk about precautions to be taken while passing an unmanned railway crossing. It will also mention the documents the driver should carry with him while driving a motor vehicle.
“After undertaking the tutorial on safe driving, every applicant shall undertake a test within seven days of submitting an application, electronically on a portal, subject to availability, either accessed by the applicant himself or with the help of a facilitation centre consisting of questions of objective type, to test the applicant’s knowledge and understanding of the matters specified in sub-rule (2)”, the notification added.
The applicant shall be deemed to have successfully passed the test if he or she correctly answers at least 60 per cent of the questions. This pass percentage has not been altered from the existing norms.
Existing norms
The existing norms require an applicant for a learner’s licence to answer at least nine questions correctly from a set of 15 questions. These 15 questions are a part of a questionnaire consisting of 150 questions. The applicant has to then apply for a driving licence after 30 days and within six months from the date of issue of the learner’s licence.
RTOs in the past have been accused of malpractices, including bending the rules to issue driving licences. The presence of middlemen had made the driving licence system a money-making racket, allege transport experts. Existing norms allow applicants to take an appointment for a test at the RTO. But mostly, applications that are not routed through middlemen find it difficult to get the passing marks.
According to Gadkari, the Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act aims to provide a “corruption-free, transparent system with a proper record for a driving licence”.
Coming: A national register of driving licences
MoRTH added that the Central Government will notify and maintain a portal, the National Register of Driving Licences, which will serve as a repository of electronic records containing all the particulars pertaining to licences issued and renewed in each State.
Data on the Portal shall be retained, stored and preserved in a machine readable electronic, printable, shareable form. Those States that have not transmitted all the information shall electronically transmit all contained data in the State Register of Driving Licences within six months from the date of commencement of the notification to collate electronic records on the portal.
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