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Heavy Vehicle Licensing Issues Highlighted by Recent Accident

A recent road accident in Harmada, Jaipur, has raised significant concerns regarding the qualifications required for heavy vehicle drivers. To operate large vehicles such as buses, trucks, trailers, or dumpers, drivers must possess a heavy vehicle driving license. However, it is surprising to note that there are no driving tracks available for testing heavy vehicle licenses at any RTO or DTO office in Rajasthan. Applicants for a heavy vehicle license must have held a light motor vehicle license for at least one year and must obtain a learning license before applying for the heavy vehicle license. Additionally, a one-month training certificate from a motor driving school is required. Unfortunately, these requirements often turn out to be mere formalities, leading to a situation where obtaining a license for operating heavy vehicles is reduced to a simple bureaucratic process.

What Are the Flaws in Heavy Vehicle Licensing?

– The one-month training certificate from motor driving schools is often just a formality.
– Applicants can frequently acquire these certificates by paying a fee.
– While RTO-DTO offices in Rajasthan have automated driving trial tracks, these are only available for light motor vehicle licenses.
– There are no trial tracks for heavy vehicle licenses at any RTO-DTO office.
– Consequently, transport inspectors manually conduct trials to issue licenses.

Why Doesn't Rajasthan Implement the Odisha Model?

– The transport department should consider adopting the Odisha model for heavy vehicle licensing.
– In Odisha, applicants undergo one month of training for operating heavy vehicles.
– The state government spends approximately 26,000 rupees per applicant for this training.
– Licenses are issued only after completing a month of residential training and passing a trial.
– There is also a provision for a three-day refresher training during license renewal.
– Additionally, license holders involved in serious motor vehicle offenses are required to undergo offender training, which must be completed to retain their driving license.

Awareness Campaigns Lagging Behind

A crucial responsibility of the transport department is to raise public awareness about road safety. However, such awareness initiatives are rarely conducted, with activities typically limited to a single week in January or February during Road Safety Week. Despite the dedicated funds allocated to the road safety fund, which do not lapse, they remain unutilized. Currently, the department has accumulated around 500 crore rupees in this fund.

Nine Years, 800 Crore Accumulated, Only 293 Crore Spent!

– The transport department is failing to utilize the dedicated road safety fund effectively.
– Since its establishment in 2016, the fund has amassed 793 crore rupees.
– Out of this, only about 293 crore rupees have been spent so far.
– The department still has approximately 500 crore rupees available in the dedicated fund.
– Additionally, there is around 200 crore rupees in the Tohaas fund.
– However, the department allocates only 5 lakh rupees per RTO office for expenses.
– DTO offices receive merely 2 lakh rupees, making it challenging for subordinate offices to conduct road safety activities.

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