Poor diligence while granting driving licences is costing lives on Maharashtra roads: Experts

Lack of proper diligence while granting driving licence and inadequate law enforcement were resulting in a high number of road fatalities in Maharashtra, experts said.

According to the data shared by the Maharashtra transport department, 97.24 percent of 32.04 lakh citizens who applied for driving licenses had passed the tests, while only 2.4 percent failed and 0.36 percent did not turn up.

Among the 50 regional transport offices (RTOs) in Maharashtra, 14 had a failure rate of less than 1 percent among driving test applicants, while only six had a failure rate of more than 5 percent, the data said. What is more serious is that in some RTO offices, the failure rate was below 0.50 percent and a few had it more than 7-8 percent.

Experts say it is difficult to understand how so many drivers were passing driving tests, considering the alarming number of accidents on state roads. With each passing day, we hear of horrific road crashes that claim the lives of innocent people. The process of issuing driving licenses needs to be improved to be able to critically assess the safe driving skills of applicants. This will ensure only skilled drivers are granted licenses,'' said Ajay Gowale, project director of United Way Mumbai NGO.

Driving tests are conducted by RTOs to assess an individual's driving skills and knowledge of traffic rules and regulations. However, before taking the driving test, applicants have to acquire a learning licence, which is valid for six months. Interestingly, compared to driving licence tests, the failure rate of learning licence tests was high in 2022, the transport department's records revealed.

As per the accident data shared by the transport department, at least 14,883 people were killed and 27,218 injured in 33,069 road crashes that occurred in the state last year. Experts have alleged that the driving test is considered a mere formality at most RTOs and a permanent driving licence is granted without properly testing driving skills. Such a low failure rate only highlights the need for a comprehensive overhaul of the system.

Maharashtra transport commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar said motor vehicle inspectors conduct driving tests and candidates pass or fail based on their judgment. To do away with the human judgment element, automatic test (driving) tracks are being developed. Presently, one such track has been set up in Pune and tenders will be issued for 18 others soon, the official said.