Test Drive

FROM JUNE 1, new rules will come into force for the giving of driving licences and they seem quite reasonable at first glance. Road Traffic Offices (RTOs) will no longer conduct the exams and that puts into question an entire system of corruption in exis­tence for decades. Is there any Indian, who has ever driven a vehicle, unfa­miliar with how licences were easily bought, sometimes even when tests failed or even without giving a test at all? It is one of those facts of life—the traffic department in every state will be corrupt, the rest of the world will just have to adjust to it. Some solutions have come from technology. In many cities, there are CCTVs and need for photos before traffic policemen can ac­cuse you of a violation. But even here, they find their own ways of surviving. But, all in all, the more power and discretion is taken away from any gov­ernment department, the lesser the ability to take bribes. This is probably one reason for the present change in the driving test rules. If an RTO officer can’t pass a test, how will he demand the money?

But here we run against the other Indian condition—that of not having a viable alternative to corrupt systems. We often imagine corruption in terms of bad versus good but the reason why Indians don’t mind it is because it makes it easy to deal with the government which has been designed to be as forbidding as possible to ordi­nary people. Even those who have the eligibility for a government service and the ability to get to it pay a bribe because it just makes the process easier. Corruption is a replacement for efficiency. In theory, privatisation of driving tests looks appealing. The buck has now been passed onto the motor driving schools which anyway train drivers. But the objection to this move is also coming from them. One of their points is where would they do it. The RTO has land where these tests are conducted but if they decided to rent or buy an equivalent area, it would be impossible, especially in cit­ies where prices are prohibitive.

Also, there is the fact that the corruption now just gets shifted to another level. A main nexus for giving licences for bribes were the schools themselves, who got their students passed because they had an arrangement with RTO officers. You would think it would make their job easier now but there would be some sort of oversight mechanism over them and that would be enforced by the RTO itself and what would that then lead to but another form of corruption.

But this new measure is still better that the past because from the point of view of the people who are going for licences, their lives become easier. They don’t have to travel to far distances and negotiate with RTO staff and policemen. Convenience is a big deal even if corruption is not.

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