There is decrease in the number of driving and learners issued in TN now
Posted on: 10/Jun/2019 10:13:18 AM
This piece of news would surely astonish many people in TN. It is now revealed that after many years TN has witnessed 26 % dip in number of driving and learners licences issued annually. In 2017-18 the number of driving licences and learners issued was 30 lakhs and it came down to 22 lakhs in 2018-19. This was according to a data.
The point to be noted is atleast 20 percent of the applicants have flunked their first driving test and managed to clear it only in the subsequent attempts. The information collected is the average failure rate was around 7% to 8%. Last year 2 major changes were introduced and it is now said that increase in the number applicants failing in the driving test could be due to these 2 changes.
It is important to note that the testing procedure was made stringent by clubbing RTO�s across TN. According to the transport commissioner, Mr. C. Samayamoorthy, testing at 3 RTOs in west Chennai was clubbed with Anna Nagar RTO that has got standardized tracks. Just similar to this, RTOs across TN were clubbed to enable conduction of driving tests on standardised (8shaped and H shaped) tracks and ramps instead of empty grounds and on the roadsides etc. In the month of March in 2019, Union Road Transport Ministry issued an order to create standardized tracks at all RTOs. In the last one year, TN took the lead in holding such tests. It should be taken into account that few driving schools moved to court against the order.
At Karur RTO, the number of driving licences or DL has come down from 40 to 15 now in a day. It is here the government had established its first digitalised track is known. To avoid stringent digital testing procedure, the local residents have now started approaching other RTOs. It was later pointed out by an official of transport department that the transport department is trying to introduce new rule to restrict RTOs from accepting applications from the individuals who do not reside within their jurisdiction. Currently, as a proof of residence, phone bill or rental agreement is being accepted is known. To eliminate brokers, there are plans to make the application process totally online.
According to Mr. Samayamoorthy, individuals could no longer apply for LLRs or licences from multiple locations. He hinted about the movement from client server to cloud server. He spoke about how earlier due to lack of central repository, the traffic offenders were filed fresh applications even after the suspension of their licenses. Finally some officials shed light on how the spike in the LLR applications spurred by the demand under Amma 2-wheeler scheme last year has come down this year. This has resulted in decrease in the numbers now.
