Mumbai: 99 pc pass rate in driving tests, 100 pc disaster on the roads

Are the high scores and full marks given for driving tests at the cityrsquos four Regional Transport Offices RTOs proving dangerous for citizens Everyone is passing their driving tests with flying colours but at what cost activists ask The failure rates are as low as under 1 per cent which speaks volumes for the kind of driving tests conducted and the kind of drivers we have been putting on the roads even as accident numbers are racing northwards activists said They called for stronger measures and stricter driving tests while issuing licences for overall safetyThere are four RTOs in Mumbai MH01 Tardeo for island city MH02 Andheri western suburbs1 MH03 Wadala eastern suburbs and MH47 Borivli western suburbs2As per official statistics from the Maharashtra transport department in the calendar year 2022 the MH01 office had about 188987 candidates appearing of which 187745 passed 1049 failed and 193 were absent which means about 9934 per cent of citizens who appeared for the driving tests passedThe MH02 office had about 161021 candidates appearing of which 160046 passed 741 failed and 234 were absent which means about 9939 per cent of citizens passedAlso Read Two private RTO agents held for demanding bribe in Navi MumbaiThe MH03 office had about 123651 candidates of which 121209 passed 1943 failed and 499 were absent which means about 9803 per cent passedThe MH47 office had about 155585 candidates appearing of which 154750 passed 524 failed and 311 were absent which means about 9946 per cent of citizens who appeared for the driving tests passedExplaining the process an RTO official said driving tests are conducted after one gets a temporary learnersrsquo licence and an online test by the RTOs to assess an individuals driving skills and knowledge of traffic rules and regulations During the driving test motor vehicle inspectors are expected to sit next to the applicant and test their driving abilities on the road including steering braking and changing gears besides judging their knowledge of road signs signals and traffic rulesRoad mishaps soaringActivists said that it has been a matter of concern because in 2022 there were about 33069 road crashes killing 14883 people and injuring another 27218 as per Maharashtra governments official road accident dataldquoHow licences are issued is a matter for investigation The RTO offices are hubs of agents and everyone wants a licence in one day and there is no time for tests and exams We all know how tests are conducted If there is some sense of responsibility towards society there has to be a comprehensive change in the overall culture of issuing licencesrdquo activist Hrishikesh Nambiar saidldquoJust think even if RTOs want to conduct tests scientifically do they have the space and infrastructure for them Visit any RTO and one can see that it is more of a garbage dump with scrapped vehicles piled high and no space for actual driving There has to be a complete overhaul of the departmentrdquo another activist Jitendra Gupta saidldquoWe should study the patterns of driving tests as conducted abroad and try to follow them if we cannot develop a fool proof system for ourselves After all bad tests and unprofessional driving habits are leading to accidents and causing loss of lives It is time for us to wake uprdquo Subhash Rajne another motorist saidRTO officials admitted that there was lack of infrastructure in Mumbai and other RTOs and that they were trying to set them up in a phased manner They said RTO tests were also being made stringent and that they have been working on developing infrastructure for Mumbai and a swank transport department office along with a spacious Road Safety Training hall and other related infrastructure at Worli A R179crore proposal had been passed last year and once the work begins it shall be completed in two yearsrsquo timeAnother RTO official said that the practicalities of the actual driving test are different with multiple repeat tests and every set of tests has fail reports which are noted in the system This data does not show the metrics of fail reports which are simultaneously loaded on the Saarthi where such stats are collated which could reveal the realtime pass and fail ratio at one goldquoWe have improved the quality of highways to international standards and quality of cars which are capable of driving at 160200 kmph It is necessary that the driving standards have to be raised to ensure no accidents at those speeds on such roads Also enforcement by highway police is importantrdquo said AV Shenoy senior transport expert with Mumbai Mobility Forum amp Mumbai Vikas Samiti1Percentage of failures in driving tests