After weeks-long wrangling, private entities to set up driving test venues in revised format

12 private entities, majority of them driving school owners, have come forward to arrange test venues in the new format, and the Transport Commissionerate has directed the officials to inspect the grounds and take steps at the earliest

After months of uncertainty and protests, now the Kerala government, in association with private players, has started to arrange test grounds in accordance with the reforms suggested in driving tests.

Earlier, driving school owners’ unions had put up stiff protests against the government’s decision to switch to the new driving test format, boycotting the driving tests across the State from May 1. The two-week-long stir was withdrawn after the State government agreed to relax some provisions in the new format and gave time for the driving schools to switch to the new format.

Due to the non-cooperation of driving schools, the Motor Vehicles department (MVD) could not switch to the new system and had tried to arrange test venues on its own. However, the efforts to arrange test venues in the public sector failed to materialise owing to lack of adequate space and funds. Now, 12 private entities—majority of them driving school owners—have come forward to arrange test venues in the new format, and the Transport Commissionerate has directed the officials to inspect the grounds and take steps at the earliest.

According to a recent government order, several private owners have expressed interest in establishing driving test grounds under the provisions of circular 4/24. The Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) and the joint RTOs are directed to inspect the test grounds to ensure compliance with the new layout. The details of the the grounds meeting the requirements should be submitted to the office of the Transport Commissionerate at the earliest, the order said.

The circular 4/24 had earlier drawn protests as it had revised the ground test (Part-1) of the driving test in the LMV category by introducing angular parking, parallel parking, zig-zag driving, and gradient test, which shall be conducted on separate tracks. Further, it has suggested installation of dashboard cameras and vehicle location tracking devices for recording the driving test of LMV-category vehicles.

Transport Minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar’s office informed The Hindu that the department had provided enough time for the driving schools to switch to the new format, and the new driving test grounds would in comply with the reforms suggested in the sector as per circular 4/24.

Published - November 14, 2024 08:01 pm IST