JOIN USAs is known, there are two distinct methods to obtain a driver’s licence. The first is applying through a driving school, and the second is applying individually at the Regional Transport Office. The basic difference between the two methods is that the former is much more hassle free than applying for a licence directly at the RTO, waiting in a long queue and facing the driving test without any kind of assistance whatsoever.
Although, it is much cheaper to apply for a driver’s licence directly at the RTO, people do not seem to mind paying an extra sum of money and usually prefer taking the easy way out. A person, who is applying for a driver’s licence, is expected to pass the practical driving test and also be well-versed in the various traffic rules, signals and hand symbols.
If a person fails the written test, he or she must reappear for it the next day or whenever ready. A nominal fee of Rs 50 is charged for taking the practical driving test, which is to be paid every time a person appears for the test, irrespective of the number of times they need to take it in order to pass.
“Many people who apply for their licences are asked to reappear for the test at the RTO, or make four to five rounds to the office, sometimes even with an ulterior motive of extracting some cash from the seeker of the licence, depending upon the official present. I had to make five trips to the RTO until I got my licence. The situation becomes ugly if the official has been having a bad day,” informs Saurav, a student of CMR Institutions.
“Although I had applied for my driver’s licence through a driving school, I noticed that a lot of undeserving drivers, hailing from such driving schools, also pass the test in the first attempt,” he adds.
Quite a number of people fail the test in the first two or three attempts. But those applying through driving schools face relatively less problems. Krishna Keshar Sharma, a student pursuing MSc in clinical psychology at Christ University, says, “It took me four visits to the RTO just to transfer the ownership of the scooter to my name. However, I have applied for my licence through a driving school. They have promised me my licence within a month, provided I clear the practical driving test, for which I would have to visit the RTO one last time.”
These factors have contributed to people relying more and more on driving schools to obtain their licences because they feel that the cost of issuing it would come to almost the same amount as reappearing for the test twice or thrice at the RTO.
Moreover, this process of issuing the licence also saves them a lot of time and trouble, which would otherwise be wasted in making periodic trips to the Regional Transport Office.
An increasing number of youngsters are also applying for driver’s licences through these driving schools which hardly fail to disappoint, even though they charge three or four times the actual amount of money required otherwise.
“Some driving schools illegally provide these licences without the applicant having to even sit for the driving test. A person whose training is not yet complete may also be permitted to drive around the City freely without so much of an ‘L’ sign on his vehicle, thanks to the ‘driving schools’ which ease the process of obtaining the licence to such an extent. Even the traffic police fail to exhibit conventional traffic signs and hand symbols while monitoring traffic. Then why are we asked about so many signs in the written test at the RTO?” asks Arnold Hou, an employee at the Sheraton Hotel, who had applied for his two-wheeler licence
without any help from any driving school.