The Journey to getting my Driver's Licence

There comes a time in every teenager’s life when they turn 18, legally becoming an adult. Once you turn 18, there are a few things that you tick off your bucket list as soon as possible like voting for the first time or going for a solo trip but the most important of them all would be getting your own driver’s licence. A driver’s licence doesn’t serve as just another address proof document, it serves as a means to get that personal freedom that most teens long for. It provides us that sense of independence where we don’t need to depend on anyone else for our transport. It also helps you become a more responsible person as you will be entrusted with the maintenance and safekeeping a vehicle. Above all, it’s a pretty vital life skill to learn, as transport is a fundamental need for all of us.   

I guess this is one motivating factor behind many of us who try to get our driver’s licences at the earliest. (The other factor is being tired of driving in side streets to avoid police at intersections and signals). The process behind getting a driver’s licence is very simple, get a learner’s licence for six months at your nearest RTO, learn how to drive, take your driver’s licence test and voilà! You get your licence and ready to hit the streets. The catch here is the fact that the RTO is a government body and like many other government bodies, it has a notorious history of agents and middlemen being the only way to get the job done where you end up paying them twice or thrice the amount of money compared to when you deal directly with the government. The government has become aware of this menace and has taken proactive steps to remedy the situation but these steps are not made aware to the public, who still choose the middlemen.

When you ask someone how to get a driver’s licence in Chennai, they will mostly end up telling you to join a driving school to learn how to drive where they take care of the whole application process and all that’s left to you is to drive the vehicle. Almost all of my friends followed the same process to get their driver’s licences for the LMV MCWG class of vehicles which includes Manual transmission cars and motorcycles with gear. The whole process costs about 6000 to 7000 rupees in total. Most driving schools mandate that the student take anywhere between 12 to 21 compulsory classes while some driving schools give an option to just take care of the application process for as high as 5000 rupees without any classes.

I didn’t have a need for a driving instructor to teach me how to drive since both my parents are good drivers and my dad was more than willing to teach me how to drive. (My mom on the other hand still hesitates to board a vehicle I drive). This prompted me to apply as an individual candidate without going to a driving school for my driver’s licence. True it takes a bit more work but the application process has been made more streamlined and best of all, most of the process is completely online.

All you need to do is open parivahan.gov.in, click driver’s licence related services, select your state, select the type of service you require and fill out the respective forms. Even the forms get auto-generated based on the information you enter and the payment process is also online. If you are applying for a learner’s licence, all you need to do when you complete the application process including payment, is to book a slot for document verification at your local RTO. Once that’s completed, you’ll get your learner’s licence within a day. I initially faced a few problems and most of them are because of a lack of proper steps and guidance on the website. The fact that my local RTO didn’t have a working contact number was also troublesome. This meant I had to go and visit the RTO for clearing the queries I had. I wouldn’t rate them as the most customer friendly office but they do get the job done.

The process is very similar for getting your driver’s licence too, do the application process and payment online and directly appear for your driver’s licence test at your locality’s designated test location. In some places you might need to book the day and time slot in which you will appear for your test but this wasn't needed for my local RTO in Saligramam. You don’t need to visit the RTO until after you complete your driver’s licence test (I learnt that the hard way). The only thing you need to be very careful about is the documents you carry with you for the driver’s licence test. Since you will be taking the test in your own vehicles, you need to make sure you have all the supporting documents for your vehicles. For each vehicle you bring for taking the test, make sure you have its Registration Certificate and Updated Insurance documents. Make sure you also get a Pollution certificate for your vehicles if your vehicle is more than six months or a year old since Pollution certificates are mandatory for older vehicles (I had to rush and get my pollution certificates within an hour on the day of my driver’s licence test). In case you are taking the test in a vehicle that your parents don’t own, maybe a relative’s car or bike, don’t forget to get a letter of authorization to use their vehicle for the test from whoever owns them. This is also a mandatory document to permit you to take the test.

The driver’s test itself is pretty easy, you just need to drive in a ‘8’ shaped path a few times without stopping if it’s a 2-wheeler. In case of a car, you need to drive around a rectangle and reverse the car in a straight line. I have heard they ask some people to demonstrate different hand signals, so learn them just to be on the safer side. Once you are through with the test, just go to the RTO and get your picture taken for your driver’s licence. You’ll get your driver’s licence on the same day or the next day with an SMS to tell you if your licence is ready to pick up.

Now to the main reason behind doing all of this, the cost. I paid 330 rupees for my learner’s licence application and 1100 rupees for my driver’s licence application which totals to 1430 rupees, much lower than what driving schools charge. Guess this wasn’t a waste of time after all. I thought I needed to write this post to tell others out there that if you have a parent or relative who can teach you how to drive, learn from them and apply for your licence yourself. I was pleasantly surprised with the ease I got my licence and I’m sure you’ll be surprised too. Although it doesn’t seem like any of us are driving anywhere anytime soon due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, let us hope the situation returns to that of normalcy for us to bounce back stronger.