Too far or too tough? 90% drop in licence applicants in a month

Noida: The number of applicants for driving licences and their pass percentages have dropped significantly since the driving and training centre (DTC) moved from Noida to Dadri, 35 km away, last month.
In Aug, only 603 people took the test in Dadri, of whom 113 passed. In July, 4,716 people had appeared for the test in the Noida transport department office in Sector 33, and 4,615 of them had cleared it.
Many insisted that the decline in numbers was because of the inconvenience of travelling to Dadri and the stricter test rules, which require completing four tasks in 185 seconds.Candidates have failed even for exceeding the time limit by just a second.
ARTO administration Siyaram Verma agreed the driving test at the Dadri centre was "rigid and tough", and barely 18% of applicants cleared it. Many applicants have failed to clear the tests multiple times. As per norms, if an applicant fails three times in a row, he will be barred from reapplying for the next 60 days. "We have also noticed that several people applied for a licence, but eventually did not show up for the test at Bisada, which is 35 km from Noida and takes nearly one and a half hours for a one-way drive," Verma said.
Group Captain Seraj Mehdi (retd), 68, a resident of Sector 21, who wanted to renew his driving licence, said he has been driving for 40 years but has failed to qualify in the test thrice.
"My driving licence expired last year and I visited the DTC at Dadri. I was informed the new system of tests has been introduced with specific timings. The time limits are the same for candidates of all age groups. The tests are box parking (45 seconds), 8-digit drive (45 seconds), gradient test (45 seconds) and reverse parking (50 seconds). A candidate is declared failed if he/she exceeds these timings," he said.
Mehdi, who submitted a complaint to the transport department about the stringent conditions, said he appeared in the test on Aug 3 and failed in three tests – box parking, 8-digit drive and reversing.
"On Aug 13, I took the test again and exceeded by five seconds in reversing the car. On Aug 22, I took the test for the third time but failed for exceeding by ‘one second' in reversing the car. Since I have failed in three tests, I have been barred from appearing in the next test for 60 days," he said. The sexagenarian criticised the testing system for encouraging speed. He requested the transport department to waive the "one second" extra he took in reversing the car and issue him a licence.
A transport department official, meanwhile, said that for licence renewal, no test is needed if a candidate applies within one year after the DL expires. "We have forwarded this complaint to officials in Lucknow," said an official.