[superlux]

Thanks but to get a mod so far away from home is really difficult and then the problem of service should any problem arise is there. I was thinking of advising an A Star Automatic. Would that be adequate?

[neofromcapone]

Superlux, contact the guys I mentioned, as it is their industry, compared to you and me, they will be in a better position to know someone closer to you. As far as the A-Star is concerned, it will be the best bet, or even the i10 (more spacious). But will your friend be able to use his/her feet to brake and accelerate, as this is a modification that will put the controls in the hands. Just found one gentleman, Ferdinand Rodricks, he does modify cars and is based in Bombay. - Link. call him and explore you options.

[superlux]

Yes he can use the foot for that. He has been using an M800 but of late it is getting more difficult for him. I guess with his budget and the limitations of not being able to get mods from afar the A* AT is the best that I can advise him.

[rohanjf]

One of my relatives is deaf and mute. He is 39 years old. He is able to hear when he wears his hearing aid, and he seldom drives without wearing it.

His driving licence expires in a few weeks. He was able to get the licence (to drive a geared motorcycle and a light motor vehicle - car) because the rules were not strict back then.

Now we are not able to get his licence renewed. We checked at the RTO of Ponda (where he resides), but they said it is not possible at all, probably because they themselves are not aware of the rules.

I still feel that it should be possible for my relative to get his licence renewed (say, by producing medical certificate from a government hospital to the RTO, to show that he is not completely deaf when he wears the hearing-aid). But I am not able to find the right way. Could any one of us help?

[mkjain23]

Hello dear,
I have recently booked i10 sports auto box at ahmedabad.i have polio in left leg while my right leg is ok so i opted for auto box.i got certificate from doctor and manufacture that I can drive the car without any problem and without any modification.However I was told to Get it registered as Invalid carriage though I haven't done any modification. I just want to infom u that invalid carriage can't be driven by some other person.therefore I have some queries. I need urgent advices from experienced person with regard to following
1. I can drive any auto car then why I am restricted to that car only.
2. auto car is being driven by many people while they dont have restriction then why am I restricted to tHis car only
3. Since i am handicap , I drive only when required and in most of time my wife being normal uses the car and I cannot afford second car.in that case as per the policy I have to buy one more car?
Is it a law or joke?
I request some knowledgable person to opine upon and provide suitable remedy since I am urgently going to get the car registered.
Regards
m K Jain
Ahmedabad

[Altocumulus]

What does your driving license say ? Does it mention that you can drive Invalid Carriages only ? If it does, ONLY then you need to have the car registered as one for you drive it. The vehicle registration number will be mentioned in the license. However then the issue as you mentioned will be that your wife will not be able to drive it.

For modifications, even if you add a steering nob its taken as modification. Tell your doctor to add use of steering nob to his certificate and get it fitted from the dealer. You should be able to use that for registering the car as Invalid Carriage under the circumstances mentioned above.

Now, if you have a normal driving license, your car need not be registered as an Invalid Carriage.Period.

Another option would be registering the car in your wife's name since she would be using it most of the time.

[Warwithwheels]

Have you tried contacting these folks?

http://www.handicappedpeople.com/contact-us.aspx

[manishym]

Originally Posted by mkjain23

Hello dear,
I have recently booked i10 sports auto box at ahmedabad.i have polio in left leg while my right leg is ok so i opted for auto box.i got certificate from doctor and manufacture that I can drive the car without any problem and without any modification.However I was told to Get it registered as Invalid carriage though I haven't done any modification. I just want to infom u that invalid carriage can't be driven by some other person.therefore I have some queries. I need urgent advices from experienced person with regard to following
1. I can drive any auto car then why I am restricted to that car only.
2. auto car is being driven by many people while they dont have restriction then why am I restricted to tHis car only
3. Since i am handicap , I drive only when required and in most of time my wife being normal uses the car and I cannot afford second car.in that case as per the policy I have to buy one more car?
Is it a law or joke?
I request some knowledgable person to opine upon and provide suitable remedy since I am urgently going to get the car registered.
Regards
m K Jain
Ahmedabad

Mk jain, I have same situation. I drive a automatic civic without a valid driving licence. I know it's wrong, but in our country, laws do disabled are from 1900s. The rto I contacted told me to get a invalid carriage. I argued that it is wrong because I do not need left leg to drive a auto civic. There is only one option, file a PIL to get court order. I do not have time to do so. I have been caught by police once for speeding. I told them I do not have a licence since I am handicapped, they fined with car number instead of dl number.

[tanwaramit]

I think RTO wants the car to be registered as invalid carriage as then only they can give you a license for invalid carriage (that would be your car).

They cannot give you a normal DL, as then that would mean that you are eligible to drive all cars including manual transmission. The Driving License is for LMV category and does not mention AT, Manual cars unless its restricted to an invalid carriage.

Hence RTO is asking for you to register your car as invalid carriage and thus provide you a DL for that invalid carriage following due driving tests.

[urajkumar]

Interesting article! I am reminiscing about my dad who was a victim of Polio due to which both legs were thin and one leg was not functional at all.

During 1994 (around then +- 3 years), Maruti used to sell special Maruti 800 for differently abled (Automatic for people like dad & another option where accelerator & brake on an handle in the steering (like an auto rikshaw) for people who didnt have both legs).

Maruti used to ration it so that people like my dad could purchase a car like that every 3 years once & what a boon it was. We were all so happy that maruti was extending special cars like these. While my dad could drive manual cars (In fact he is a much better driver than me), he still went ahead and booked the automatic. During those times it was unheard of & i think he paid around 1.2 lakhs (excuse the approximate amount & years since i was around 10 years of age then and don't remember the exact details). Anyone who used to see the auto gearbox & the clutch missing was shocked! Some refused to sit in the car initially! It was truly a joy at home!!

We finally sold the car 3 years (& 60000 KM ) later for around 2 lakhs (80 thousand profit) to industrialist who wanted to buy an automatic for his wife! We had purchased 6 models of M800 totally including this one (rest 5 were manual).

I know i digressed but let me come back to the point! It was indeed nice that we had these options and lot of people who otherwise could not have driven a car had a chance to own one due to the efforts taken by maruti. I am not sure if such special options exist nowadays. Manufactures should come up with models so that everyone who has the ability to drive should have an option to drive. Kudos to maruti for providing such options even in the 90's!

[autotranny]

I tried applying online to get a learner license in Kerala for invalid carriage. Though the application was accepted, at the end they have put in a condition that, 'In addition to all the application forms, you must provide a certifcate from Medical Board,certifying that the disability does not affect the driving a vehicle of such class, applied for.' Will any Medical Board issue such a certificate. The last time I contacted them, they told me that only RTO can be a judge of my driving ability.

[tanwaramit]

Originally Posted by autotranny

I tried applying online to get a learner license in Kerala for invalid carriage. Though the application was accepted, at the end they have put in a condition that, 'In addition to all the application forms, you must provide a certifcate from Medical Board,certifying that the disability does not affect the driving a vehicle of such class, applied for.' Will any Medical Board issue such a certificate. The last time I contacted them, they told me that only RTO can be a judge of my driving ability.

RTO is not the medical authority to test your fitness. With so many health issues/problems/diseases, RTO with their technical knowledge are not the person to evaluate you medically.

Medical evaluation of how your body is, how good the controls of your hands, legs are, how much strength you have, how is your vision etc is something which only a medical officer will do. In this case a government hospital can only do it.

So RTO is right in asking you to get the documentation from the hospital so that they have a visibility on your ability to drive from a medical practitioner.

[Sudarshan]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

So RTO is right in asking you to get the documentation from the hospital so that they have a visibility on your ability to drive from a medical practitioner.

I dont have current information on this, but what I knew till last year is .

1) Govt.civil hospital had this authority before to issue a certificate for the RTO purpose, but now no more.

2) they have given this task to separate institute, that evaluates the person in question & defines his disability for the purpose of driving a motor vehicle.

3) for MH people this institute is in Mumbai near race course (dont remember the name)

This was last year, it was a long process but looks more logical in theoretical sense

Sudarshan

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

RTO is not the medical authority to test your fitness. With so many health issues/problems/diseases, RTO with their technical knowledge are not the person to evaluate you medically.

Medical evaluation of how your body is, how good the controls of your hands, legs are, how much strength you have, how is your vision etc is something which only a medical officer will do. In this case a government hospital can only do it.

So RTO is right in asking you to get the documentation from the hospital so that they have a visibility on your ability to drive from a medical practitioner.

I don't disagree to any of your concerns, but show me atleast one Medical Doctor or Board in India which will do this.

They will just say, "We can certify that you have no other health issues apart from the disability that you have declared, but whether you can drive or not is upto the licensing authority to decide".

So then back to the RTO, who says ; "Sir, Invalid Carriage na, MV Act says Medical Certificate is required to confirm that you can drive".

So this leads me back to the Medical Board/Doctor and then back again to the RTO. I have been doing this for the past 2-3 years and can do it again for the rest of my life. The only saving grace is that in our country, I can drive to all these places on my own questioning my right to drive.

[tanwaramit]

Originally Posted by Sudarshan

I dont have current information on this, but what I knew till last year is .

1) Govt.civil hospital had this authority before to issue a certificate for the RTO purpose, but now no more.

2) they have given this task to separate institute, that evaluates the person in question & defines his disability for the purpose of driving a motor vehicle.

3) for MH people this institute is in Mumbai near race course (dont remember the name)

This was last year, it was a long process but looks more logical in theoretical sense

Sudarshan

To answer your question below

1. Government civil hospitals are still the ones to issue, however, since there is a specialist hospital at Haji Ali, they refer such cases there. The name of the hospital is AIIPMER
2. As said above, there is a specialist hospital and the hospitals refer people there to avoid the documentation and others at their hospital
3. As point number 1

Yes, its a long process, but who said the government process is short? Government processes are always long and time consuming.

I don't disagree to any of your concerns, but show me atleast one Medical Doctor or Board in India which will do this.

They will just say, "We can certify that you have no other health issues apart from the disability that you have declared, but whether you can drive or not is upto the licensing authority to decide".

So then back to the RTO, who says ; "Sir, Invalid Carriage na, MV Act says Medical Certificate is required to confirm that you can drive".

So this leads me back to the Medical Board/Doctor and then back again to the RTO. I have been doing this for the past 2-3 years and can do it again for the rest of my life.

On your question of medical doctor/board, as above, try AIIPMER, or Safdurjung hospital in Delhi Or try other big hospitals in your cities. They cannot refuse you to give the documentation, meet their head Or file an RTI, they are mandated to give you a certificate either in positive or negative for the requirements.

RTO will only give you car license based on the certification as given by the doctor, if your hands are strong OR you can work with your legs, if yes to what degree.

Its all dependent on the certification as given by the doctor. Please approach the highest medical authority in the hospital and they will do the needful.