THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Driving school owners have decided to challenge the circular issued by the transport commissioner mandating changes in the driving tests.
They are concerned about arranging testing grounds as per the modification, replacing test vehicles older than 15 years, and over the new criteria for instructors from May 1 when the new rules come into force. The motor vehicle owners’ associations have jointly decided to approach the court after their talks with Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar over the relaxation in the provisions did not yield any results.
The motor vehicle department expects the driving schools to arrange testing grounds with facilities to test new modules such as angular, parallel, zig-zag parking, gradient tests etc. It requires plots of 26 m length and 26 m breadth.
Considering the difficulty in getting enough grounds, the driving school owners want the MVD to either conduct the ground tests in two modules or arrange suitable testing grounds. They also said that the decision to take away test vehicles older than 15 years was arbitrary when the Central Motor Rules allow re-registration of such vehicles.
According to the driving school owners, the new rules would require them to make an investment of `8 lakh.
“The new rule is arbitrary because the law allows people to use older vehicles. Our vehicles are safe because we keep them in good condition and operate at a low speed,” said Nazar Usman, general secretary, Motor Driving School Owners Koottayma.
The circular issued by Transport Commissioner S Sreejith on February 21 also mandated that the driving instructors should have obtained necessary qualifications as a regular course.