[autobahnjpr]

Long back when I was working Bangalore, I appeared for driving test for four wheeler license at Jaynagar RTO. The inspector was a tall burly fellow who could hardly fit into my zen. When I asked him to buckle up before the start of the test on open road, he just said, it is ok. He made me reverse the car on an incline at 90 degree turn and passed me. I still remember the incident vividly. When I narrated the same in office that I got the license without paying the agent, they were very surprised.

[KrisTvpm]

Got my first DL issued in Kerala in '96.

Car/4wheeler test was somewhat thorough affair. First it was the "H" marking with an M800(thankfully! had it been an ambassador or "trekker" would have found it difficult), followed by an on-road test with MVI sitting in back-seat & inspecting my moves. Didn't falter much & cleared both easily.

Two-wheeler was a different story - prepared for the "8" & all, but on the D-day the official asked me to just ride the 2wheeler I took - my father's Bajaj Chetak - on a straight line, and that was it!

Due to my overconfidence, the DL renewal couldn't happen either at origin or in KA - BLR, as time-window for renewal had lapsed - it must be started 6months before expiry & missed that deadline.

Hence, fresh license it was for me again, in '17.

All stuff repeated, only difference online learners-license test this time; cleared it, 1 month wait, then D-day. No "H" or "8", but thorough test on congested alleyways behind the RTO. Witnessed the MVI ruthlessly rejecting "chhapri" type youngsters left & right. Was a little apprehensive, but when my turn came the MVI was quite cordial probably due to seeing a middle-aged man in office attire (took a break from office to go), just stuck to the bare minimum basics, checked for seat-belt/proper indicating/lane discipline/general driving/reversing into a tight spot/U-turn with proper checks etc. and that was that.

Only thing, when he shouts to STOP, one isn't supposed to just do that - do it with absolute care as the test-path was a thoroughly congested both-ways-traffic no-median road. Some youngsters panicked, did a "full stop" and were immediately rejected. That was it, I cleared!

Overall would rate the difficulty-level at 5 on a scale of 10, and feel it should be atleast 8, to weed out road-unworthy drivers/still-learner-drivers.

[KGS]

My India DL story is very much similar to what you all have mentioned. No drama, no jitters, got the license without much fuss.

However, as I moved to the UK, I had to start the process for getting a Driving Licence here. Luckily, my Indian DL was valid for a year so I can drive and get ready.

Stage 1 : Getting a provisional Licence - I had to send my Passport and BRP to DVLA (RTO of the UK) to get it. I think the fee was around £30 for that.

Stage 2 : Theory test - With the help of an app I started preparing for the theory and Hazard perception test. Once I thought I was ready, I booked a slot for the test. I paid around £30 and appeared for it. Hazard perception was a bit tricky but cleared the test easily.

Stage 3: Kept my driving practice on without any instructor. I covered almost half of the UK and it helped a lot. Now I had to book a slot for driving test. It was around £50 odd. Getting a slot was tough but I got it in about 2 months time. On the day of driving test, I had to make sure my car was ready for the test, have one extra IRVM for the evaluation and L plates on my car.
Evaluator was a nice guy , around 45-50 years of age and almost 6'6".
My slot was at 10 am and I reached there sharp at 09:55 am. Evaluator was prompt, he came to my car , inquired basic things like valid insurance, no issues with car etc. Then he asked me to read the number plate of a car around 20 meters away. Once I read it correctly, we started with my 45 minutes long test.
He covered all kind of roads with speed limits varying from 20mph to 70mph. At the end of the test, he reported 2 minor faults in my driving and gave a pass certificate.

My story may seem like a normal and easy one but may be I was the lucky one. Some of my friends appeared for the driving tests around 7-8 times and failed because of one or other major mistake. Eventually the cleared it and that is still one of the most memorable day for them.

[mm_shen]

Thanks Omkar for this thread!

I started riding a geared motorbike before turning 18! I was at Udupi RTO right on the day I turned 18! Was in in 2nd year of PUC. (Read 12th grade/standard). Udupi RTO was in Adiudupi area, right in front of the Helipad and Adiudupi Santhe(Market). Those days, RTO would not entertain coming directly, had to go through an agent. No idea how is it now.

Learner's License:
I had not driven a car, nor was I looking for a LMV license. Was more than happy to get a geared two wheeler license. The agent took me right to the inspector who was a stoutly built man with a thick mustache. He asked me a few question orally. How do you show you are taking a left/right? Show stop sign. Showed me a few symbols on a chart and asked me what it was. I was prepared and answered all question. Got my LL, which disappointingly was a sheet of pre-filled paper with my name and few details written in pen against the blanks, photo and RTO seal and sign. I expected it to be something else.

Driver's License:
Went with my bike, TVS star city. The agent asked me to bring the original RC book, Vehicle PU certificate and Insurance copy. I got it. The agent showed these documents to the same officer, who was sitting under a tree, with a peon holding a few files behind him. I was observing a few female riders with their mopeds wobbly riding straight in a distance and taking a U, trying hard not to put their foot down and return. The officer snapped back at him "Straight hogi, U hankonda ba. Kaal kelige idabaradu!" which means, go straight, take a U and come back. Don't keep your foot down! With 5 years of riding experience under my belt, did it without a sweat. Came back. The RTO officer was not even interested in looking up from his file in hand. May be busy staring at Gandhiji!
Got my License about 15-20 days later, which was booklet. All hand written. With my passport size photo glued on one sheet, with seal and sign.

Now in Final year engineering, I was happy on a bike. Never thought I will drive any time soon as we did not own a car. My cousin was hell bent on getting me a LMV license. He begged me to join a driving class. He gave me a advice which really made me think. He said "Get a car license. You may not have a car now, but learn driving, which is an important life skill". I agreed and joined a driving class for a grand sum of ₹3500, which included 10 driving classes and a license at the end of it.

There were rumors of a "fantastic world class RTO with test track" getting built in Manipal near End Point. The rumors were that due to the track, passing the test would be difficult. It had an 8 track. There were inclines on which they would ask to stop and you had to stop and start the car without rolling behind. But to my luck, the RTO was getting built, but opening was in a distant future.

Got my LL done by the driving class. Similar story to the my bike license. Finished my 10 driving classes, where I proved to be driver with little to no confidence on steering the car. The driving class asked me to submit my license and asked me to appear on a particular date. An RTO officer, sitting below the same tree, asked to go straight down the same road and come back taking a U. My instructor who was sitting beside me asked to hold the steering lightly and let go for accelerator and brake. He used his side of the pedals, held the steering from below, so that the officer could not see. Did the round. This officer too was not at all interested in the test. I was told, I passed and that I would be issued a Smart card instead of a book. Went to the driving school to get my new License in form of a card after about 30 days. I was given back the same book, with an additional page filled out stating the date of issue of LMV license and date of expiry, which is 4 years later to my two wheeler license duly sealed and signed. Apparently the card making machine at Udupi RTO was broken. I was asked to come after a couple of months to get it replaced. I went twice, each time they shooed me off telling the machine was broken. I guess they were too lazy to get it replaced or didn't have any incentive in doing so.

I never bothered going again. Still have the same book, which I have made hard bound now.

The funny thing is, whenever I have been stopped and asked to give my license by the police, they laugh on my face and ask me when did you get your license done? In the 80s? I politely ask them, the license states it is Valid till 2035. Am I mistaken about it's validity? They ask me to get a smart card. I tell them ok and never bother to turn towards the RTO.

[PrasannaDhana]

It was in 2005, as soon as i turned 18, I applied for license. I have been driving various cars long before that( ofcourse in empty school playgrounds and farms of mine). So I was no stranger to driving.

My driver accompanied me to the inspecting ground in our Tata Estate. The car was parked about 60-70 m from where the RatO inspector was seated. They were allowing applicants to use their own car if they had brought them.

When the inspector told us to bring the car to him, he must have meant the driver, but the overzealous me walked off to the car. Later I came to know that the RTO had told my driver if i came reverse without struggle, that will be my final test. I got in, drove the car in reverse effortlessly. When I reached the inspector, he just smiled and told me "idhu podhum" which translated to "this is enough". In today's age, this might have been negligent on the part of the RTO, but back then, no one really cared about inspecting each candidate.

For 2 wheeler license, I had to the famous 8 without placing the foot in the ground. I took my Bullet Std 350 CI. It was a cake walk.

[frez_fr]

I got my license in 2012 from Kerala. The 4-wheeler was pretty difficult due to heavy rain just before the test and it caused the ground to become muddy. The two-wheeler test was an easy walk-over. It was a Bajaj M80 and everybody in Kerala knows how it works. We don't need to do much. And to add something to this these three words answer the questions below.

Indian driving license:

Why do we have so many vehicles on the road?

Why do we have so many accidents on the road?

Why do we have so many idiots/morons on the road?

[rajeevsulu]

I got my DL way back in 1988.My mom drove the M800 we owned then with me in it to Erode Rto. My cousin rode his Suzuki Ax-100 to the Rto for me to take my Two wheeler driving test.
It was a straight forward affair with the officer asking me a few questions and observing whether I was using the signals correctly and then checked my ability to reverse the car.
The two wheeler test was very simple with me being asked to do the figure 8.
What I remember most avidly, straight from the RTO, we drove to the Yamaha showroom and booked a red RX100. The delivery was a week later and that was a very memorable day.
Cheers

[Thad E Ginathom]

I looked for a more suitable thread than the source, about clutches, and found this one. Seems like a good place to add and continue the conversation

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

For me in Chennai, [the driving test] was barely a 100 metres in a straight line.
(I think the guy knew I already had a foreign driving licence, but, honestly, I don't think it got much harder for anyone.)

Originally Posted by x-o-b

I know that you are joking. That was a good one, though.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Sadly, I'm not joking at all about the test. The tester took two of us. One young woman drove to the end of the road, turned right, and turned the car around. The tester then ask me just to drive back, and asked what car I'm used to driving. I felt bad for her: I could have done that 3-point turn blindfold. Mind you, she did it ok.

Originally Posted by x-o-b

Are you saying that we got people driving on the streets without actually "passing" the test? Well, this is "tragic" at worst. Who hires these incompetent licensing officers/driving test officials? I would sack them immediately for not doing their job. If thousands are killed in car accidents, I will blame these officials for it and put them behind bars before the actual driver that caused the accident.

I will quote an excerpt from the "LICENSING OF DRIVERS OF MOTOR VEHICLES" for road test as published and stipulated by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India:

Link to the full document is here.

Trust me, a vast majority of accidents happen simply due to failure to adhere to one of the several points enumerated in clause 15 which the driving test, if properly conducted, should have taken care of. I implore everyone reading through this thread to kindly revisit the clause 15 once, please.


In my case, the test official had a full check-list with him which he ticked away after being fully satisfied with. Hill start was just one item in the list. By the way, cars with hill-assist feature are disallowed during the test.

I wish everyone had taken such a test!

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I think we are getting too far off topic for the the thread... ... ... Let me close off my side by saying yes, and I thought this was commonly understood on the site, with the ease of getting a driving licence being regularly one of the things blamed for the general state of of driving in the first place.

My test was at a small central-Chennai test centre in about 2006. I don't think it is still there, and I don't know what a Chennai driving test is like now. The test was on the public road, albeit a very quiet area.

Two further points: Even though I was already an experienced driver in my mother country, any sort of exam or test always brings on slight nerves. A fellow candidate told me not to worry at all, as the school would have arranged things!

I did actually take the lessons. And I can say that the instructor at that school was absolutely sincere in wanting to impart genuine driving skills and knowledge. One needs to have so many lessons signed off. Probably people get away with just the signatures. I wanted the initiation into Indian driving as I was still, having lived here about one year then, a little scared of it. I soon realised that it is easier to be a driver here than to be a pedestrian, and I still think that!

[deehunk]

My DL test happened in March, 2010 at a ground near Kengeri. I was told by my instructor to bring my own vehicle and the test arena was as per the law. First thing the Inspector checked was whether we knew how to wear seat belts, then he would allow us to continue the test. I was asked to drive on the test track, demonstrate the use of hand signals, indicators and park the vehicle in reverse gear behind a truck. It lasted for 15 minutes and I got my DL in first attempt. Neither my instructor or the inspector accompanied in my vehicle.

[myavu]

My driving test was in early July 1994.

The car was an old Amby with a gear shifter on the steering. The location was from Irumbanam Junction (east of Tripunithura, Ernakulam) towards the north until Irumbanam railway gate (now Seaport-Airport Road). I had just celebrated my 18th birthday then and was super nervous.

The transport commissioner asked me to start the car and drive towards the railway gate. Everything was fine under a lot of lush greens and huge trees. I was cruising in 3rd gear, and out of nowhere he told me ("Vandi Nirthu") to stop the car in his rough, bassy voice. I panicked and stopped the car in the middle of the road. He put up a weird look on me and said, "Ingane aanodo vandi nirthende? Hmm, Sari, Sari") "Is this the way to stop the car? Hmm, OK, OK."

That's it. By the end of July, I got my license.

[Imminent1776]

I took my driving test last year at KR Pura in Bangalore. The test was incredibly easy, and my driving instructor sat with me in the car! The test inspector didn't get in my car, he simply watched from a distance. I just had to drive around for a bit and reverse into a parking spot, the test only took five minutes.

[capnemo]

Originally Posted by BimmerDude207

That's right, the freaking instructor just decided to take matters into his own hands and he told him, "Hey boss, you leave the steering wheel and gearshift, I'll drive from the passenger seat using these pedals and make you pass."

This is a funny read, but completely true.

I live in Bangalore now, but have had 10 years of driving experience, with an older booklet type driving license made from Maharashtra. When I tried to convert it into a smartcard license, my original driving school instructor from that time said that the RTO guys in MH couldn't locate my license serial number in their registry books, and advised me to get a new one made locally. To do this, I went ahead with a local driving school as I didn't want to spend a lot of time running around the Bangalore RTO folks, what with a bad experience doing my hypothecation removal a few years ago.

Armed with all these years of driving under my belt, I was prepared to pass the test in the Electronic City RTO which has an automated driving test loop. But the same experience that you described, happened with me - the instructor did all the driving for me.

When I engaged the instructor in conversation, he said that even if I knew driving, the RTO would fail me since they expect everything to happen in a set amount of time. So getting a DL made, is not a matter of demonstrating proper driving skills and acumen, but a matter of perfecting driving in the RTO's exact loop within a set duration. One funny incident, one of the automated driving signal lights took a long time to turn from red to green after our car was parked correctly, and the instructor went mad blowing the horn, in the hope that somebody in the control room would manually switch the light. And to think, they made an automated driving test for this !

Just after the test, I had to pay a visit to the RTO counter with my file, where they would confirm and tell me the 'result' of my driving test.

Imagine how institutionalized our corruption is - everyone from the RTO authorities, to the clerks, to the driving school agencies and their instructors, and us citizenry, are a part of it ! Is it a wonder then that our roads are routinely ranked amongst the worst in terms of fatality rates ?

P.S. I later asked the driving school guy, and he said there is an option to get the DL made without even appearing for the test.

[dagger8]

I went through the exact same process for the same reasons. Had to get my learners license made first. They rejected me in the test despite all correct answers twice. Once the reason was - Camera not detected while it was alright. Second time, they mentioned that I didn't blink throughout the test.
Third time, they sent me to an agent, who just asked me to sit in front of the camera, asked me to "smile madi", "Blink madi", "repeat madi" and it was done.
Entire experience just left me speechless.

[Pennant1970]

Originally Posted by myavu

My driving test was in early July 1994.

The car was an old Amby with a gear shifter on the steering.
~

That's it. By the end of July, I got my license.

I got mine in 1990, and there was no road test or even the "H"! I learnt driving sitting beside my father and first drove when I was 14 (a story for another day). He never gave me his cars to drive independently and the ones I had practised in were all floor shift (Standard 10, Herald, Austin A40). The day before the test, a friend of mine took out his cousin's beautiful Mark II Ambassador that had been parked up for months and we went for a drive!That's all the driving lesson I ever had. I gave my test in a driving school's modified Mark 3 with the instructor beside me. Drove 50 yards up and down a ground, changed gears, signalled, etc. Passed, of course! Funny - I never used that to drive a car for 28 years! Got it endorsed for 2 wheelers 6 months later because that's what I preferred!

The licence expired in 2020, I continued to drive till 2018 when I was at last forced to buy a car. Went to renew my tattered (book form) licence and was told the same as you - not in database!🤪 This is where we differ - I had it entered manually and went on to renew the licence after a short drive with the RTO. I wonder what will have changed when I go again in 2030... Not much, I'm sure.

[PrasunBannerjee]

Originally Posted by capnemo

When I engaged the instructor in conversation, he said that even if I knew driving, the RTO would fail me since they expect everything to happen in a set amount of time. So getting a DL made, is not a matter of demonstrating proper driving skills and acumen, but a matter of perfecting driving in the RTO's exact loop within a set duration.

It's everywhere imbibed in culture of India. Even in schools and colleges, even education system doesn't expect students to 'learn' anything but just be able to pass exams. Hence, not surprised