Passing driving license test likely to get difficult. Here's why

Passing a driving license test in India is likely to get difficult as people will be required to pass a stringent skill test, including reversing vehicles with accuracy for qualification. The Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday told the Lok Sabha in a written reply about the new rules and passing percentage.

Here’s all you need to know:

The minister told Parliament that the passing percentage for the eligibility of a driving license in all Regional Transport Offices (RTO) has been fixed at 69 per cent.

The candidates will be required to reverse the vehicle into a limited opening either to the right or left under control and reasonable accuracy to qualify the test. “In the case of a vehicle having a reverse gear, driving the vehicle backwards, reverse it into a limited opening either to the right or left under control and with reasonable accuracy is one of the parameters of qualifying in the driving skill test,” news agency PTI quoted Gadkari as saying.

These measures are as per the provision of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, to produce qualified drivers, he said.

The applicants will be provided with a video link for the driving test demo at the time of booking an appointment for the test.

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Physical or live demonstrations at the driving test track as well as on the LED screen in all Automated Driving Test Tracks (ADTTs) will be shown before the beginning of the actual skill test.

Applicants can avail themselves hassle-free services to get a driving license as certain services linked to licenses and certificate registrations have been made completely online through Aadhaar authentication on a voluntary basis, the minister informed in another written reply. This has been done to reduce the footfall of applicants in the RTO offices in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In an advisory issued by the ministry of road transport and highways on Friday, the government has extended the validity of vehicle documents like driving licence (DL), registration certificate (RC) and permits till June 30 amid the surge in the Covid-19 cases.

Gadkari said a day before that the license can be renewed anytime between one year before its expiry till one year after its expiry for the benefit of the citizens away from their hometowns, visiting abroad etc.

(With agency inputs)