[ph03n!x]

Fake training certificates- yes, that is what a chunk of the multi-axle drivers use to renew their licenses. Quoting from Times of India:

A quarter of all the heavy vehicle drivers in the state could be ineligible to drive their vehicles, results of a random inspection by the state-run Institute of Road Transport suggest. And that probably explains the rising number of accidents involving trucks and other heavy vehicles.

The institute found that 25 of the 100 drivers who had applied for renewal of their heavy vehicle licences at the Meenambakkam road transport office had submitted fake advance training certificates. The certificate, issued by the institute after a day's refresher course for heavy vehicle drivers, is mandatory for licence renewal. Heavy vehicle drivers have to renew their licences every three years.

Deaths in accidents involving heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses in the state had gone up from 5,835 in 2008 to 6,950 in 2009.

Transport commissioner M Rajaram told TOI that the police had arrested two men, who were forging the certificates, but did not reveal their identities. Assistant director of Institute of Road Transport N Thiyagarajan said the bogus certificates looked similar to the original ones to the untrained eye, but had a few differences when scrutinised. "We have sent complaints to the Meenambakkam road transport office and the police for appropriate action," he said.

The inspection followed a complaint filed by a doctor with the suburban police about a racket involved in forgery of documents near the Meenambakkam transport office. Complainant Dr B Gopi said people have been selling bogus certificates for Rs. 500 to Rs. 700 for the last one year. "Fifty per cent of advance training certificates submitted for heavy vehicles driving license renewal at Meenambakkam and Alandur RTO offices are bogus," he alleged.

Transport authorities said measures would be taken to deal with the forgers. "The department is keen on eradicating the bogus certificate racket," the transport commissioner said.

[julupani]

Well, personally I think you cant put all the blame on the heavy vehicle drivers alone. All drivers share the blame, lack of proper training is not limited to heavy vehicle drivers alone. Also many a time the vehicles that run on our roads themselves are not in proper running conditions.

In fact most light vehicle drivers should be more careful while negotiating around the heavier vehicles, who obviously cant stop or turn as fast as the lighter ones. A large percentage of the accidents is not due to the fault of the truckers, but the other party.

Of course a certain part of the truck driver base is rash, but I feel this is a smaller percentage than the car or bus driver group.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by julupani

Of course a certain part of the truck driver base is rash, but I feel this is a smaller percentage than the car or bus driver group.

It's not about being rash, it's about simply not being able to drive the vehicle. By submitting fake documents and circumventing the normal process, most of these drivers will simply be incapable of driving heavy vehicles.

Just see how many news items you get in Mumbai papers of dumpers going out of control and crushing people and vehicles underneath them.

[julupani]

Well,

I dont think you can conclude from somebody submitting some fake documents that he is any worse than the other drivers on the road. How many of us have had a proper driving test/training when getting our licences??

When I got my MCY license, all that was asked of me is "What is a zebra crossing for??". For my LMV license the question changed to how many gears are there on the MAruti 800 I drove at the time. I did not submit any fake papers, not that I had to submit any papers. Does the inadequacy of the test prove I am a bad driver?? Do they prove that I am a good one??

I am sorry to say this, but almost 95% of the drivers in India dont have adequate training. So blaming the truckers any more than the car or bike people would be wrong.

Why do you want to hold them to a higher standard than the car drivers or bike riders??

Again dont read this as I am saying the truckers on our roads are great drivers. I am just saying they are no worse than the rest of us on the streets. And blaming the trucker just because he is driving a bigger vehicle is plain wrong.

[the-rare-one]

Julupani.

I went for the test at Pune RTO almost 6 years ago and all that I was asked to was to drive the car (this was the agents car on which I was trained) for about 10 meters forward and 2 meters reverse.

No question asked whatsoever except the RTO license officer braggin about the number of tests he conducts in a single working day (less than 4 hours, rest of the 4+ hours are for admin work related to the tests)

I do not think I know all of the rules and regulations and I cannot call myself a better of the lot either. That is the state of the affairs in this country and it is pathetic at best.

Drive safe is something I learnt here on TBHP ! Kudos

[julupani]

Congratulations, at least the officer knew that you could, because the two questions that I was asked can be answered by a 10 yr old kid.

And this situation persists in almost all RTOs of the country.

But the moment an accident happens, all most people need to know is the kind of vehicles that were involved. If one is bigger its at fault, if they are of equitable size, the one that is costlier is at fault.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by the-rare-one

I went for the test at Pune RTO almost 6 years ago and all that I was asked to was to drive the car (this was the agents car on which I was trained) for about 10 meters forward and 2 meters reverse.

Here I was not even asked to drive. All I have done I went to take photograph and the REST was taken care by my agent. I have not exaggerated but this is wat had happened around 10 years back.
This can happen or make it happen by anybody.
SO blaming truckers is a sin and there are always equal number of other drivers!

[honeybee]

@julupani, if there's a process set for renewal of the HMV driving license and people are bypassing that process by submitting fake documents, I think we can fairly conclude they are ineligible for the license. Whether they can or not is not a point here. I have seen garage boys drive all types of cars without making mistakes, but they still aren't eligible drivers. The one day refresher course isn't there simply to get money out of drivers. If someone attends it, chances are he will have more awareness about the challenges he will have to face and be in a better position to handle them, than someone who hasn't.

[julupani]

When did I ever say that they are eligible for the license. But the point I am making is are they unique in that way. How many of the rest of us are eligible to get the licenses??

My only point is the truckers have no extra blame compared to the rest of us. Thus for the rest of us to keep blaming them is completely wrong.

The point is somebody being ineligible for the license, need not prove that his driving skills are any worse than the guy who has a license. Our testing mechanisms are all bogus and pointless. Thus we cant co-relate ability to drive on the roads safely with the fact that someone has a license or not.