New Delhi: Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who has been under attack in the Rajya Sabha over prolonged absence, asked a rare question in the Upper House on whether the government intends to make driving licence procedure stringent to curb fake licenses and got a written reply.
“Whether under the proposed new Motor Vehicle Act, the government proposes to make driving licence procedure more transparent and stringent in order to curb fake licenses,” the cricket icon sought to know, to which Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways Pon Radhakrishnan replied that the Bill proposes to have a unified driving licence system.
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is working on a proposal to replace the ‘Motor Vehicle Act, 1988' with a new Act namely ‘The Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015' which, inter-alia, facilitates technological intervention and information technology based systems to ensure efficient and safe driving system in the country, Radhakrishnan said.
“The Bill proposes to have a unified driving licence system which envisages the simplified application and issuance procedures for Driver Licensing System, adopting technology for driving testing facilities,” Radhakrishnan said. Unified bio-metric system is proposed to be adopted to avoid duplication of licence, he added.
The Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2015, inter-alia, proposes to include regulation for pedestrians, non motorised transport and motor vehicles, he said.
“It includes sensitising and educating drivers and other road users,” the Minister said, adding that it also provides special consideration to vulnerable road users such as women, children, senior citizens and differently-abled persons.
“Combination of penalties and fines to enforce traffic rules, strict enforcement for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, rash driving, electronic detection and centralised offences information to identify repeat offenders have been proposed,” the Minister said.
Tendulkar has also asked whether the government proposed to implement strict guidelines to test and train the driving licence applicants and what steps are being taken in the new Act to safeguard the rights of pedestrians, drivers, physically challenged persons and to curb the incidents of road rage.
