Jerin Nath, 36, based in Kochi, is unable to drive his recently purchased sedan. Nath, who owns a web design firm, is a first-time car owner and has a two-wheeler licence obtained in 2010. He started learning to drive a car in March. “I got an SMS from the Transport department citing COVID-19 as the reason for not holding the test. This is strange,” says Nath, who welcomes the move to make roads safer, but is uncertain when he will be able to take the final test. Two-wheeler licence holders are exempted from appearing for the learner’s test.
Driving tests and training of applicants remained halted across Kerala since May 2 because of a stand-off between the Transport department and driving school operators over a circular issued in February with the aim of improving the quality of the tests.
The 14 Regional Transport Offices (RTO) and 72 sub-RTO offices in Kerala conduct tests for approximately 1.5 lakh people each month.
