Driving test parameters are ‘unfair’

Learners say the tracks for trials at city RTOs are too small to manoeuvre the vehicle. The space would hardly be more than 50 metres and new drivers who are approved and issued licences are

asked to drive their vehicles in this small open space at the Andheri RTO, which serves as the test track for the transport office. The condition is same at the Tardeo and Wadala RTOs. With

test tracks mandatory and a huge sum marked in the budget every year, the city’s regional transport offices do not have a single test track, where a learning driver can take trials and

tests. “The space is so less and it is always a mess in the monsoon. There is not enough space to manoeuvre a vehicle and licences are actually issued to people who pass tests from here. It

could be a safety risk and just think what kinds of drivers we are producing,” Ravi Kumar Mukherjee, a driving instructor from Kandivli said. Bipin Sinha, who has just learnt driving from a

training school in Andheri and gave a test on Tuesday said, “We are trained to drive by the motor training school on the roads during early morning. At the RTO, we are herded like cattle and

asked to sit in the car for not more than 15 minutes. There’s no space to drive and give all kinds of tests and speed tests. We are just forced to drive in circles and one straight drive of

less than 20 m, that’s it,” he said. Satish Bhattacharya, who accompanied a candidate, said that things are much better back home in Kolkata. “Is this some kind of a joke? A basic driving

test track is all that is expected of this government office that certifies new drivers.” Transport commissioner Dilip Jadhav said that the department was in the process of building a new

swank office with all the facilities at Andheri. Transport department officials said that the test track at Tardeo will also soon be put into use as it has been blocked by the parking of

seized vehicles.