It started with my desire to get an old moped (motorised two wheeler) for my farm hand...
I know that he has been riding a moped given by the next-land neighbour for a while and hence never had a doubt about his driving skills.
We scouted for a good second-hand moped and almost finalised from where to buy and what to buy.
Then I asked a simple question, 'Do you have a licence?'.
My farm hand said 'No but you see I have been riding ever since...'
Then I asked the next-land neighbour the same question. He gave his typical hearty laugh and said 'Licence?, What licence you are talking about? I am sixty five and I have been riding my moped for almost 50 years!'
It turned out that the 1000+ mopeds plying the streets around the villages in my region have neither insurance nor licence (for their owners) though both are absolute must as far as Road Transport authorities are concerned!
The typical problem faced by these folks are the following:
1. They often use the vehicle just to carry their produce to nearest
selling place which is usually a few Kilo meters away, too long
to walk, that is.
2. They quite often buy the vehicle second hand from the nearest
automobile dealer which is to say that local-sourcing. Every few
villages have at least one automobile shop nowadays.
3. No driving schools in the vicinity. Driving schools haven't
penetrated the villages of India yet.
4. Many of them are not even aware of vehicle insurance as they
do not see a value in spending 1000+ rupees for a piece of paper
(in their words) which is of no use to them as they rarely go to
towns. Anyway 1000 rupees is big money for most of them.
The 1000+ I mentioned is from a very small region within my district. Just do the math for the whole country and you see a mammoth pool of very different road users that just rides below the radar so to say! Remember, 70% of Indians live in rural areas...
The authorities did make some noise about this situation but could not convince the village folks beyond a point, I learnt from this elderly gentleman next-land neighbour.
He also told me that people seldom come down with accidents riding their mopeds as they ride mostly within a smaller radius.
These revelations just turned my 'concept' of driving licence upside down!
I just remembered the serpentine queues in front of Road Transport Office all over India and the blatant bribery that is involved in getting a licence. I am sure these guys I talk about won't be able to spend those additional few hundred rupees for bribe for sure!
By the way, the transport authorities of late are making regular announcements in various villages about the deadly effects of drunken driving and advising people at-least to listen to them this time...
About the moped to my farm-hand, I am yet to make a call!
I am a well educated, well off person who happens to be living in a village. Three years back I missed my insurance payment date for my moped. I had to go to the city with the vehicle to renew my insurance. I never go to the city in the moped and hence kept postponing the renewal. Eventually I found out that it is not necessary to have an insurance if I do not drive more than a few kilometers within the village and abandoned the idea of insurance for the moped. Not necessary as in the practical reality of slim chance of accidents as well as I have never seen a police stop anyone within the few kilometers I drive in the village (though a police station is within those few kilometers). Since I also have a motorbike that I drive to the city, I have a driver's license and an insurance for it (just so you know that my not getting insurance for the moped is not to save a few hundred rupees per year). Perhaps it is time to scrap at least insurance (if not driver's license) for mopeds and acknowledge the villagers' wisdom (and practical situation). License too could be scrapped if the moped usage is not more than a few kilometers. Posting this anonymous because nothing is secure online and I may have the local police show up with a printout of this comment demanding "something" :)
ReplyDelete