[ruzbehxyz]

W.e.f. 01st July 2021, Driving license applicants will now be able to obtain the document in an easier way, without going through the tedious process via regional transport offices (RTOs). An amended rule by the Union ministry of road transport and highways came into effect on Thursday allowing candidates to get a driving license without taking driving tests.



The transport ministry has notified the new rules for accrediting driver training centres where applicants will be provided with high-quality driving courses and on clearance of the test, they will not be required to take driving tests at the time of getting the license.

These training centres will be equipped with simulators and a dedicated driving test track for high-quality training to the applicants.

The driving course for a light motor vehicle in an accredited driver training centre will run for 29 hours in the span of a maximum of four weeks from the date of commencement of the course. The course will be divided into theory and practice.

The duration for medium and heavy motor vehicle driving courses in the training centres is 38 hours in the span of six weeks and divided into two segments, theory and practical.

The centres are not only restricted to light, medium and heavy motor vehicles but will also provide industry-specific specialised training. The course will fulfill the shortage of skilled drivers on the road.

The accreditation granted for accredited driving training centres will be in force for a duration of five years and can be renewed.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india...182540112.html

[livelyyoungman]

A good move by the center. Also, the entire thingy will be recorded in order to make it better if not completely foolproof. It would be great if the accredited centers come up with simulators quickly - just like what is there in pilot training.

[gkveda]

While it is a good idea to provide driving training in a simulated environment, it can not be considered sufficient condition to issue DL without tests for participants to drive in real time environment. Ideally, 50% of training on simulated environment and 50% in real roads following a driving test will be optimal solution.

We have seen how experienced drivers stumble while driving in emergency situation. Gauging the width, length of the vehicle, weight, momentum, speed, air, engine sounds and many more factors together provide that "NOTION" of whether car is going well on track. While some of these can be simulated, that additional x factor which gives real experience can never be simulated, in my opinion.

If Government start issuing driving licence to participants just with a training in simulated environment, they can even give doctor's MBBS degree to people who run medical and surgical stores(No offense meant to medical stores owners)

Another important point relevant for Today's situation is, more than anything else, how to make people who know driving, FOLLOW RULES. I think RTO should focus on conducting 30 mins tests for people having DL(probably while renewal of DL) and start cancelling the DL for those who deviate rules even slightest bit, in the simulated environment.

I am 100% confident that most of the drivers will deviate rules if they are given 30 mins driving test in the simulated environment.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by gkveda

While it is a good idea to provide driving training in a simulated environment, it can not be considered sufficient condition to issue DL without tests for participants to drive in real time environment. Ideally, 50% of training on simulated environment and 50% in real roads following a driving test will be optimal solution.

Every few months we have new rules coming in. Some time back, many RTO invested crores of rupees in making ground tracks for license tests. If everything goes online and on the simulator, what about the driving tracks created ? Why are they wasting tax payers money ?

[windrider]

Driving tests are a joke in a lot of small towns. I remember during my engineering days in sullia ,Karnataka, a lot of my college mates who were unable to pass tests in their own states, took tests at our local driving school located near our college. People who had repeatedly failed tests elsewhere and had no idea how to drive or any road sense, passed the test with flying colours. There was zero theory. Just 4-5 practicals where you would drive in a field for 15-20 mins. Then when you had learnt the basics, you would do a couple of short drives on deserted roads and you were done. The RTO test was an even bigger joke. The inspector would come and sit in the car. All you had to do was drive 20-30 metres forward and in reverse in a small pocket road without any traffic and you were done. No starting on an incline, no driving in traffic or checking if you are using indicators etc. Two wheeler was pretty much the same. You just had to take a round of the driving ground on a rust bucket scooty and you would get a two wheeler license for geared m/c. How does the govt plan to make our roads safe if all they are intent on doing is putting up speed cameras and issuing chalans for not wearing seat belt/helmet. So at the end of the day, i dont understand how the govt is going to implement this new method of obtaining license and how this is going to help road users in the long run

[Amrik Singh]

Is it not a fact that many rich guys learn driving as soon they are tall enough to see through the windshield ?Though illegal, they learn driving at much younger age and for them, the official Driving Test is merely a formality. They come to limelight only when involved in fatal accident on wheels of expensive Cars.
I wonder if the simulators are programmed to actual road scenarios which vary fro city to city and state to state.
An Autoricksaw slamming on brakes and take a U-turn in the middle of road on spotting a Passenger on other side, Cycle rickshaw pedalling slowly in the only left for traffic, overloaded Trucks and Trolleys are just some the wonders on the road which have to be tackled.
Physical road test should be mandatory but that brings evil of bribes to Pass.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Good move by the Govt.

In cities like Pune, RTO has too much load for the driving license. As a result, the appointments are never available in near future; you get appointment only a few months down the line. In fact, if you don't apply within 3-4 weeks of getting the learning license, your learning license will expire by the appointment date.

And on the appointment date, you will find too much crowd and chaos because of high load. So hopefully, this reform solves these problems.

The amended rule says that the accredited driver training center shall have test track in 1 acre land. This means that such centers will be far away from the city limits and these will be costly too. Approval and setting up of such centers will also take considerable time. Till then, we need to continue with the present system.

[RedTerrano]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

The transport ministry has notified the new rules for accrediting driver training centres where applicants will be provided with high-quality driving courses and on clearance of the test, they will not be required to take driving tests at the time of getting the license.

These training centres will be equipped with simulators and a dedicated driving test track for high-quality training to the applicants.

Of course there is certainly scope for improvement, but I think this is a step in the right direction. Once upon a time you got a license after driving the figure of eight. Hopefully we see less of people who drive with both their feet down and a huge improvement in traffic sense.

Our generation has suffered infinite morons on the road. Hopefully the new generation fares better

[sagarpadaki]

In my opinion, this is a regressive move. In our country with so many morons on the road, providing license without a stringent driving test is not a mature decision. Infact, our driving tests must be beefed up. With tougher theory exams ,passing which ,would make the applicant eligible for practical driving classes, followed by practical driving test. Only a difficult to obtain driving license in terms of knowledge required will make our roads safer.

[mac187]

This is not a great move. The current process with well made test tracks was good enough, while it does present the human bias (read corruption) problem, its still the best setup for our size. The stress of the environment (noise, heat, wet roads), vehicle characteristics (clutch, bad alignment, poor brakes) all add to the real world test. At best simulators can help learners to coup during training.

[condor]

This has been in the pipeline for quite some time now, to try stop corruption in the RTO for the DL issuance part. If implemented correctly, it will help with better trained drivers -though there is no substitute for experience. It will also reduce the load on the RTO offices, and hopefully the officers can be re-assigned to look at many other ills facing the system.

For Transport vehicles, I think this has been implemented some time back. My cousin had been thru this to get his DL renewed. However, things did not look foolproof because the of the un-enthusiastic participation of the trainees. Many going thru the motions, and not because of the trainers themselves. He said the challenge seemed more about how to get the aspiring truck drivers to remember the subject matter that was being taught.

[GeeTee TSI]

Very optimistic about the move, hoping it will bring technical rigour with emphasis on safety, courtesy as well practicality for a learner/aspirant and breed a better generation of drivers, at large.

Many organisations have been training driving-on-business staff through specialised courses on par with the best in the world, obviously because a driving licence from our current set up carries no credibility other than the legality of it. It is about time the general public goes through something better than just be aware how to operate the pedals and bring about 'motion' in the vehicle !

[sgmuser]

To put it bluntly, this is nonsense, especially for a country like India. What the minister was smoking when he came up with this idea? He was dreaming that he was born in Sweden or Denmark? Put the emphasize on safety, policy, rules and then implementing it strictly but not opening up this way. This will only lead to more corruption. This won't change anything rather make it worse. I expected the tests to be much stricter but now I wonder what the roads will be in 5 to 10 years time in India. God save walkers, bikers and poor road dwellers!

[Thermodynamics]

While I support the idea of rigorous driving course as a qualifier to obtain driving license, removing the test is a bad idea. No matter what simulator we use, real time testing is essential in such critical qualifications.

I agree in some states today driving tests have been an eyewash. Corruption is rampant. That doesn’t mean, removing the tests altogether is a solution. Bringing in private players would only complicate things as it is the customer who is paying them.

[Bhalla]

I don’t know if it’s related to this topic or not, but I think Government must do something similar to the what Canadian Province of Prince Edward Island is doing. It will allow examiner to avoid physical contact with examinee and driving test will be conducted in real world conditions.
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5609781