Mr Pratapsingh Rane, during the call attention motion in the Goa Assembly session on May 9, very rightly brought up the subject of issuing driving licences in Goa or that matter anywhere in India.
If one takes a survey in our neighbourhoods we are sure to find that everyone, who is 16 years and above, having a driving licence of at least a two-wheeler. I wonder whether all these young proud licence holders, ever went through a stringent process involved in getting their much desired piece of priceless possession. Very often there are serious doubts whether many of these licence holders have really learnt all the basic concepts involved in the process of safe driving. What is shocking is that even their parents are not concerned about the risks involved.
The very fact that one has been issued a final driving licence, it’s to be presumed that the individual is fully proficient with all the requisites of safe and disciplined driving and knows the rules and regulations regarding road traffic.
Unfortunately we don’t see much of these regulations being adhered to on our roads. Both men and women are seen frequently busy speaking on their mobiles. All this happens because driving licences are given away, taking into account other considerations, such bribes and political or family connections.
To drive home the point let me mention here that in late 60’s and in 70’s, licences were issued in Panjim alone by Road Transport Authority. At that time the practice of giving bribes was almost nonexistent and the procedure of qualifying for a driving licence consisted of an oral test (OT) and a road test (RT) under the strict vigilance of the RTA Officer. If one passed OT then only he could appear for the much feared RT. In other words to be declared successful one had to clear both the tests successfully.
Nowadays getting a driving licence is just like a walk in the park. No wonder that we have so many traffic accidents and so many lives are lost prematurely. The procedure for issuing driving licences has to be revamped and made more stringent.
