[Amrik Singh]

Year : 1973
Place : Chandigarh
Aim : To get 2-Wheeler Driving License

After getting Learners License, it was time to get Permanent D/L. On the scheduled day, left home on my Lambretta Scooter giving all hand signals to turn and stop (as if there was a CID behind me to observe).
At the Police HQ, an Inspector collected all forms (approx. 30 applicants) and herded us all out on a field adjoining a service road. Called out a name and asked him.
"Road signs aate hain?" (Do you know Road signs?)
"Jee Sir" (Yes Sir)
"Nahin aate to bataa de ... baad mein SSP Sahib poocchenge" (If you do not know then say .. SSP is going to ask later)
On another affirmative answer by the applicant,
"Yahaan se seedha ja, aage se baayein mud, aur waapis aa ke khada kar de"
ordered he. (From here go straight, turn Left, return and park)
He just watched the applicant drive away - not to see him later and turned to next applicant with the same procedure.
Having done away with all, marked "P" on all forms and led us all to SSP's office.
SSP was sitting in a large hall with a big board with all the Traffic Signs near him and a pointer in his hand. He started calling names and asking the Signs.
When it was my turn, he saw a small boy of 18 facing him.
"Kya karte ho?" (What do you do)
"Sir I am a Student"
"Kaun se college mein?" (In which college?)
I answered.
"Kaun se course mein?" (In which course?)
I answered.

He removed his specs and settled back in his chair and spoke.
"Yeh jo tum college ke ladke hote ho, ek Scooter pe teen-teen chalte ho" complained he. (You college guys ride three on a Scooter). Those days Lambretta Scooter ruled the roads. It had a Horizontally fixed Spare Wheel behind the Pillion Seat - more safe and comfortable to sit than the Pillion itself.
"Sir, seat to do hee hoti hain, teen kaise baitth sakte hain?" I questioned him back. (Sir there are only two seats, how can three sit ?)
"Stepney per baitth jaate hain" he clarified. (They sit on the Spare Wheel)
"Sir woh to gir bhi sakte hain. Scooter ka balance bigad sakta hai" I advised. (Sir they can fall off. Scooter's balance would be jeopardized)

Oh boy !!! Was he seeing a naive or an over-smart applicant. He was speechless. Just asked me if I knew all the road signs and on my nod ... it was all over.

Needless to say, I broke all limits driving back home.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

At the Police HQ, an Inspector collected all forms (approx. 30 applicants) and herded us all out on a field adjoining a service road. Called out a name and asked him.
"Road signs aate hain?" (Do you know Road signs?)
"Jee Sir" (Yes Sir)
"Nahin aate to bataa de ... baad mein SSP Sahib poocchenge" (If you do not know then say .. SSP is going to ask later)

Why was the police involved in issuing licenses? I thought licenses were issued by RTOs.

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Why was the police involved in issuing licenses? I thought licenses were issued by RTOs.

That was year 1973. The Licence was issued by
For
Licensing and Registration Authority


On similar notes, if one violates Licence or Registration which is the domain of RTO, why is Police involved (Traffic Police) in issuing Fine or initiate arrest or confiscate vehicle ?

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

On similar notes, if one violates Licence or Registration which is the domain of RTO, why is Police involved (Traffic Police) in issuing Fine or initiate arrest or confiscate vehicle ?

The traffic police are part of the RTO.

[TheHelix0202]

Hey guys, so I went for my driving tests (both MCWG and LMV) today and I am happy to say that I cleared both. Pushing aside my laziness, I will share my experience here. It is a bit long-ish, so please sit back and relax. Forgive me for any errors, grammatical or otherwise that may have crept into it, I'm too tired to think straight. My writing skills have hopefully not taken the back seat.

The Learner's Permit test I took on the 25th of September was a joke --I scored 15/15 -- but the actual hassle itself I faced that day was meagre compared to what I had to undergo today. Here goes -

I have been wanting to get my very own license and be able to drive myself for the longest time possible (ever since I was a kid sitting in the driver's seat of my dad's parked Ford iKon, back in 2004/5).

I could not apply for it when I turned 18 last year as I had my class 12 boards, but got a chance to do so only after returning to Bangalore to apply for college. I enrolled in the local (Bimal) Maruti Driving School in early September and picked an Ignis to drive. I had already driven a few cars before so knew what to do. One thing I would like to mention is that the experience I had with MDS has been shoddy, to say the least. I would not recommend this particular branch of MDS to anyone looking to turn out a half decent driver. A third of my ordeals I have penned down here (scroll down page). I may post the rest of the story later on.

As we did not have a bike handy at home to practice on, I asked my dad to take a bike on rent. So, we went ahead and got a 2019 Pulsar Neon (ABS) from Bykemania, this bike renting company for a month. Now this bike was in fairly decent condition, but had a really rubbish gearbox that just did not want to slot into Neutral. I did not think much of it and proceeded to learn on it. Pretty decent commuter bike, I would say. I really enjoyed it in the low speeds I was doing to get comfortable. Went to a nearby ground for a few days and began to practice. My bicycle experience came in handy and I had the basic gear shifting patterns and handling mastered in no time.





After keeping this bike for a month, we returned it and got ourselves another Pulsar 150 (Non-ABS), this time from OnTrack. This bike was even more shoddily maintained than the other one. It had a loose rear view mirror that got worse on the last day, and had the same rubbish gearbox that I had now come to expect of all Pulsars....or it could have just been the 150cc bikes. The brakes, lacking even a SIngle Channel ABS, had a poor but manageable bite. The false Neutrals and NO-Neutrals were annoying to say the least, but being the positive fellow I am, I kept myself in good cheer while using this bike too. Pardon me, for I have no pictures of this bike. Also, this bike had no rear view mirrors, and the less said about the quality of service about both these bike rental companies, the better.

After using this bike for a week and returning it, we decided to take go on a car trip to see family, and went on a ~800 km round trip down South. I was on the last day of the holiday on Friday last, when I got a call from the guys at MDS, asking me to come to the last couple of driving classes before the D-day (November 24th - there was confusion earlier about the test date being either on the 24th of November or 8th of December).

So rushing back to Bangalore, I had Dad take another bike on rent. This time, I did not want a Pulsar again, fearing the general mechanical gremlins this bike seemed to have, and chose the FZ v3 instead. There weren't many other bikes that a beginner could have managed -- KTM RC 200, Royal Enfield Classic, etc. The CB Hornet was not available or I would have gone for that, knowing how smooth Honda engines are. So the only other reasonably priced (for 3-4 days) bike they (BykeMania) had was the FZ. There was even a R15 v3 and I almost went for that, but better sense prevailed and I did not. Was decently happy with the FZ. Rode it for the first time yesterday and I was blown away by a bike that is not even exactly known for being the most powerful in its segment. Maybe that has everything to do with me being an amateur when it came to bikes (now my new-found love is for bikes ). The FZ's gear shifts are clunky and hard, and Neutral only falls when you give a gentle tap down with your heel (from 2nd gear) most of the time. Though, it's a fairly light bike (it took me a good few minutes to get used to the weight, admittedly).

I was not impressed by the FZ the instant I had to navigate the damn thing out of the parking space with cars on either side and a pillar in the middle. Also, the throttle on these newer bikes has very little play and I was not so sure if I liked it, being used to the Pulsar which had a couple of centimeters of "gray area" before the throttle actually responded. But it's nimble enough. The Yamaha engine was freer revving too; it was butter smooth as expected (though both Dad and I observed this kind of odd high whine when riding in 5th gear).

I knew that my RTO (Kasturi Nagar) did not have an 8-track like you would see in many / most other places around this country. It only has a serpentine (rocky and dirt) track with five cones placed 20 feet away from each other. Meant for both cars and bikes, so any half decent bike rider would find it to be a piece of cake. I went ahead and bought some red chart paper which I cut into two different 'L' shapes and taped them onto the bike's rear tyre hugger and the front mudguard. Satisfied with my handiwork, I went back home and confirmed what was going to be asked in the RTO test by watching the 2 videos that YouTube's search algorithm threw up. But there was a nagging fear in my mind that did not let me have a peaceful night's sleep last evening. I was tossing and turning in my bed. Eventually, I fell asleep and woke up this morning and checked fervently the various hand signals I might be expected to use.

Then I got a sudden brainwave. I thought of turning up early at the RTO and doing a couple of practice laps. So I left home at 8 AM (RTO opens at 9) with Dad and reached the place sometime later. Now I would have liked to share my various observations of people around me, but that would only add to an already long post and make it a boring read, besides killing my already half dead tired mind.

I was able to maneuver the FZ around the cones without too much hassle - the trick is to shift your body weight through the corners. Did it once, twice, thrice, four times. I was satisfied. So I put on the center stand (I practiced that too) and was able to give out a sigh of relief when a couple of "official" people arrived and asked us to take up the COVID test. Leaving our helmets on the bike which we parked at the very end of the field, we went over to them.



Expecting the worst, I nervously took the pink solution they handed me in a tube and the couple of whatever-the-thing-they-insert-in-your-nose-and-throats (swabs??) and sat in the plastic chair. Three minutes and a couple of uneasy sensations that preceded the need to sneeze later, I was done. The tout that was in charge for us folks that went to MDS was standing outside with a crowd around him. No social distancing anywhere! After getting his attention by shouting in his ear, we were asked to buy an envelope with a couple of stamps on it, write my name, address and phone number and give it to him. He arranged it in a file with my name on it and handed it to me.

By this time, the gatekeeper cum watchman had come running out the gate and asked whose bike it was that was parked the furthest. Getting annoyed at being distracted from looking at this pretty gir- err...BIKE, I looked where he was pointing at and noticed it was ours. Also, there was a beat-up looking, dirty maroon Santro parked right next to it, half-blocking it from our view. Dad and I proceeded to walk up to it, and I started jogging so as to reach it faster. I grabbed my helmet off the seat, plugged the key in and was about to unlock it when these two what I assumed to be touts came over to me and asked me in a rude manner whether it was my bike in broken Hindi. For a moment, I thought they wanted a loan of my bike and was fully ready to refuse, and so I told them it was indeed mine. By this time, Dad reached the spot and asked them what they wanted. The guys did not speak English and maintained their broken Hindi. My dad asked me to simply bring the bike away in Tamil, and one of these guys said, "Oh Tamil ah?? Intha plate irukkura bike ah sieze panniruvanga!! Documents irukka??".

Translation: "Oh, you speak Tamil? They will sieze this bike for the number plate. Do you have the documents?"

Dad got slightly annoyed and raised his voice. "What are you talking about, I have rented it in my name and of course I have the required documents. Why would they sieze it?". The guys continued to garble nonsense in their aggressive tone.

By then a horrid realization dawned upon me - the stupid RTO rules probably did not allow rental bikes to appear for the test. But why? A hundred questions raced through my mind.

Dad asked me to just come and as I was pushing the bike, one guy said to the other "Vitturu, pogattum paakalam."

Translation: "Let them go, they will learn."


I got the bike off its stand, pushing it all the way to the gate, a good 500 feet away, adrenaline pumping. A feat I would not have been able to do, without it. I stopped near the other scooters and bikes that had by then started to pile up. Dad who had gone outside told me to bring the bike outside, I nodded and started pushing it again. In the process, it scraped hard against my right leg and a brief jet of pain shot through my leg. Thinking nothing of it, I went outside and parked it outside on its side stand. The terrain was slightly uneven and the bike leaned greater than I expected, giving me the second mini-heart attack of the day. I walked over to Dad and asked him what I was going to do now.

He told me we would think of something and to relax. By then, he had already made friends with this friendly college chap who readily offered me his friend's Pulsar 180F. But our MDS tout also promised to get us a bike and we decided to wait it out and see how things panned out. After a good 20 minutes, most other bikers lined up in a long queue for the test. I would have been the first to go if I had had the right bike but then, there is no use cribbing now.

After a bit of pleading and prodding, the tout got me a rickety Hero Honda Splendor and told me to "go there", pointing. I shoved my file into the non-existent tank cover the owner had on there. The tout then told me all the gears on this bike were UP, and nodding, I rode off, nearly crashing straight into the last guy in queue before me - the front brake in this thing was absolute ROT. When my turn came, I had to get off the bike, walk to the police uncle that was seated at a wooden table some distance off, and hand him the file. He asked me for my name and giving it, he told me to go. I returned to "my" bike parked a few feet in front of the first cone by the guys handling two wheelers.

Swinging my leg over its side and hoping against hope that this rust bucket would not stall midway, I pulled the clutch in and pressed the faded electric starter. It did not start. No worries, I just had to put it into Neutral!

Did just that, released the clutch slowly and...stalled it. Once more. Twice. Well, three time's the charm, raising the RPM while slipping the clutch, I moved off. It was relatively low to sit on, and the tank was narrow. This directly translated to a better turning radius. Also, I found the Splendor to reach higher speeds in first gear than the FZ or even Pulsar. This meant I did not need to shift to second gear and quelling the serpentine track was a piece of cake. After clearing the last cone, I switched to second gear, navigated the rocky down-slope and babied the brakes. Came to a halt, held the bike out to the next guy in waiting, refused handing him my helmet - Saar, this I borrowed from doosra guy!, I said pointing into oblivion and walked out to my waiting father.

A huge had been lifted off my shoulder and I only had the car driving left to do. Though admittedly, I had no time to feel nervous about the bike riding but had all the time in the world to fret about the other one. Standing in the hot morning sun in the right-most queue of three after handing over my helmet to Dad, I got a chance to drive the MDS car - blue Swift ZXI+ in which I noticed an anomaly. It sounded too loud to be an ordinary petrol car but it was NOT the familiar DDiS sound I was used to, driving a Dzire during my last two practice classes. Then I realized that the idle RPM's had been set high. Higher than the diesel Swift which idles at around 750-900 RPM. This was in the range of our petrol Skoda. It was confirmed the moment I got into it. I managed to sneak in a "Second gear?!" while getting in, to which my instructor who was climbing into the back whispered back "First!". That confirmed my suspicions about the tuned car.

Well, who cares? I thought, adjusting the seat travel and making a fuss of adjusting the IRVM also. Seatbelt!", said the guy in the back. Obviously, I thought to myself. Pressed the clutch, slotted into first gear, released the clutch. The car moved plenty fast enough, but my passenger still wanted me to press the accelerator. Oh well, to humor him I pressed the gas pedal, approached the U-turn, let go of it, pressing the clutch to biting point and gently tapped on the brake. The car turned with no fuss and I proceeded to clear the mini "slalom".

"No need to go so close, you could go wider." he said, I kept mum and did what I knew had to be done. Did not want to appear to be a newbie, taking big, slow turns. I could perfectly see the cones and there was no need to unnecessarily turn the toy wheel that was the Swift's. Reached the end of the stretch, stopped the car, put it into Neutral, pulled the handbrake up and got out. The tout gave me the file back, and told me to go pay the fees at the counter. I had to do this after making a half-lap around the perimeter of the building. Met an old friend on the way, caught up for a few seconds and then went about my business. Then came the boring part of waiting for hours on end in a queue with people that had no idea about social distancing or social etiquette, especially in times like this. All this, and a lady coolly cut me across and joined the queue right in front me when I was dutifully standing at 2.5 feet away from the chap in front (who happened to be the helper of the aggressive tout we had first met). I was just gaining the courage to protest too after hearing the guy refusing to let her in front of him, when he had a change of heart and let her get in front of him.

I shrugged and kept quiet. Patiently waited my turn and finally gave the man sitting on the other side of the counter the money, got the change and receipt and got it approved at the next counter. Then, I had my photo taken near a booth of the opposite end of the payment counter, signed my signature and paid 58 bucks for the smart card, all the while having to deal with educated fools who kept lunging across me to shove their money before me. Luckily, I had some money in my wallet (handed him a 100 rupee note but he only gave me back 40. Luckily for me, I did not really lose 2 rupees since the first guy at the counter gave me 50 bucks instead of 48 ).

Heaved a sigh of relief and got out of there fast. I was famished and finished for the day. Dad rode the bike back home again, and upon reaching home and changing clothes, I noticed this inch-long-and-half-as-wide cut on my skin with blood pouring out. That would be the 'N'-th mini-heart attack for the day. Cleaned it up with some antiseptic and water, and carried on with my day.

I conclude my story there while it is fresh in memory, though I am not adding several interesting incidents that happened as they would be too many to mention here and you, the reader, might be bored to death hearing. Glad this is a once-in-a-lifetime hassle. And for what it is worth, Dad tells me he heard people outside the RTO entrance talk about the increase in 2 wheeler fees to 5000 Rupees and 4 wheeler to 10,000 Rupees starting from next month. Don't know what to make of that, but before I collapse out of sheer exhaustion, thank you all for reading if you made it to the very end of my post!

P.S - When I mean "today", it is the 24th of November in the story. I'm posting this well past midnight.