If you have money, you can buy any luxury vehicle by spending lakhs or crores, but if you want to drive it on public roads, you need an approved driving license. Many people try to find easy ways to get a driving license when their driving lessons are halfway through. Complaints about adjustments between driving school operators and Motor Vehicles Department officials who oversee the test have been around for a long time. Ways to get a licence without completing the '8' and 'H' tracks and methods to complete those steps with shortcuts are notorious. The foul play of officials who grant hundreds of driving licenses a day in such a generous manner came to the special attention of the minister recently only.

A super test was held in Thiruvananthapuram last day to catch such highly capable officers. A list of officials who approved more than 100 driving licences a day was prepared and brought to the Muttathara testing ground for trial! This skill of theirs should be proved in the presence of senior officers. Strict action against those who do not complete 100 tests successfully within the stipulated time! However, out of 98 people who came to get their license on this super test day, only 15 people passed. In short, the ones who failed are not those who came to take the license test, but the officers who let the ones who came to take the license test pass in bulk. The report of this test has been submitted directly to the Minister by the senior officials and action will follow.

A driving license is a permit to drive a vehicle on public roads. The license holder is responsible for ensuring the safety of not only his own life but also those travelling in other vehicles and pedestrians. The test should check not only the ability to handle the vehicle but also a good understanding of the road traffic rules and the presence of mind to face any situation on the road. It will take time to do this. In any case, it is certainly not possible to ascertain the ability and merit of a hundred applicants during a test happening from morning to afternoon. So what has been happening so far? That is the miracle!

One of the main reasons for the increasing number of road accidents on public roads is the driver's incompetence. Even those who hold a driving license may not have much idea about their own vehicle or safe driving. The Super Test which was conducted in the capital should be implemented in other centres soon. Those who exhibit suspicious high capability should be caught red-handed. On the report received by the Minister, strict action should be taken against these officials and the licenses issued by them should be cancelled immediately. The public also needs to realize that a driving license is not something that can be obtained with cash or a shortcut.