It has been a long time overdue to share my experiences of driving. I have been driving bike for last 20 years now. Starting from a bicycle to now a brand new CBZ extreme from Hero Honda. I have never had any issues with driving. I learnt driving a car last year. I have not yet bought a car yet, but plan to buy one soon after I move out of my university. I already have a driving license from my home town. But since last nine years I have been staying in Delhi and my earlier license is about to expire. So I need to get my driving license renewed.
Three months ago in December, 2009 I went to the Motor Licensing Office in Delhi to get a driving license for two wheeler bike and LMVs. I had done all the formalities of filling up the forms and paying the fees when at the end the Officer told me that I cannot be issued a driving license until I furnished a medical certificate from a government doctor. I knew this was coming. So I came back and got a medical certificate issued by the opthalmologist at my university. I went back to these guys in March only to be bluntly told that people with vision in one eye are not allowed to drive a motor vehicle.
This denial was beyond my understanding. I did not understand with which reason they are denying me the license. I can drive well. No issues with that. My left eye is just fine and I can see things clearer than many two-eyed people as my left is normal. So, I asked the officer to tell me which rules stated that I was ineligible. Upon which this guy asked to better file an RTI for that.
I was fine with that. So I filed an RTI with the Transport Department of Delhi seeking the answers of the following questions:
- Question No.1: Can a person with no vision in the right eye and normal vision in the left eye get a driver’s license issued under the concerned Acts of the Government of Delhi?
- Question No. 2: If the answer to the question no. 1 above is ‘No’, then could you please provide me the applicable Acts and rules under the pretext of which this is denied?
- Question No. 3: If answer to the question no. 1 above is in ‘Yes’, I would also seek the information regarding the procedure and other documents that are needed to be furnished by the applicant to get a driver’s license.
The reply came pretty soon, that is within two weeks. But the answers that came along was very disappointing to me. Below is the answer that this duffer gave me :
- “Answer No. 1 No
- Answer No. 2 Form No. 1 attached
- Answer No.3 Question does not arise.”
The above monosyllabic answer of course is not satisfactory to me. As I had asked these guys to provide me the details of the Acts, rules and/or ordinances that specifically denied people like us a driving license. As usual with the RTI replies, the reply also directed me to an appellate authority in case of unsatisfactory answers. So I wrote a long RTI application to this authority at the Under Hill Road. Below is the application I have written which I am going to send to them tomorrow.
__________________________________________________
To,
The Secretary (STA),
5/9, Under Hill Road,
Delhi – 110054
Reference: Appeal against non-satisfactory answers supplied under Right to Information Act, 2005 (I.D. No.:-1124).
Dear Sir,
This comes with reference to some information I sought under RTI Act, 2005 via I.D. no. 1124 dated 22 March, 2010. I am Narayan Kumar Choudhary, a research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. I had applied for a Driver’s license at MLO, Vasant Vihar on 15th December, 2009. After completing the forms and paying the fees etc. for a learner’s license. I was denied the driver’s license and told to furnish a medical certificate as I had no vision in my right eye. I came back to the MLO, Vasant Vihar with a medical certificate on the prescribed format issued by the Ophthalmologist at the University Hospital last month, only to be told categorically that one-eyed persons are not allowed to hold a driving license. As I knew that this cannot be true, I asked them to furnish the rules of MV Act that denied this upon which they suggested me to file an RTI.
I sought the information under RTI via the details provided above only to be supplied with unsatisfactory information. For your perusal, I recite the questions I had asked in my previous application, as these questions remain the same even in my appeal to you:-
Question No.1: Can a person with no vision in the right eye and normal vision in the left eye get a driver’s license issued under the concerned Acts of the Government of Delhi?
Question No. 2: If the answer to the question no. 1 above is ‘No’, then could you please provide me the applicable Acts and rules under the pretext of which this is denied?
Question No. 3: If answer to the question no. 1 above is in ‘Yes’, I would also seek the information regarding the procedure and other documents that are needed to be furnished by the applicant to get a driver’s license.
The concise, categorical and monosyllabic answers (a copy attached herewith) that came to these three questions are as follows:
“Answer No. 1 No
Answer No. 2Form No. 1 attached
Answer No.3Question does not arise.”
With my understanding of my physical condition and all the literature I have read about the Motor Vehicle Act of India, along with some other information read here and there, I believe that disallowing a one- eyed person from driving his private vehicle is not justified, either in spirit or by any law of the land. With regard to this I want to present some points that make me believe what I have stated in the paragraph above.
First of all, a one-eyed person is not considered a ‘handicapped’ person either in the Indian law or anywhere else in the world. If a one-eyed person is applying for a handicapped certificate, he is given a handicapped certificate with a 30% handicap. A 30% handicap in any part of the body is not considered a handicap i.e. the handicap person is not allowed to have any benefits reserved for handicapped persons because to get those benefits, one requires a 40% of handicap. This means that in law, one-eyed persons are just normal persons.
Secondly, the Medical Certificate Form (Form 1 (A)), which has to be fulfilled by the applicant and be issued by a government doctor, does not mention anywhere that a one-eyed person cannot drive a motor vehicle.
Thirdly, there are instances everywhere in the world including the state of Delhi, and several other states across India and most of the other countries in the world where a one-eyed person is normally allowed to drive and get a driving license issued. I would like to mention a few instances of such information I have gathered over the internet:-
Excerpts from a FAQ page of the Delhi Traffic Police website at the following link viewed 4 April, 2010 (link: http://www.delhitrafficpolice.nic.in/vision-and-driving.htm)
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4. Should drivers with monocular vision undertake the eyesight screen check?
Ans : No. The eyesight screen check cannot check drivers who have monocular vision (sight in one eye only). Drivers with monocular vision should go to their optometrist, ophthalmologist or GP for an eyesight certificate.
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Drivers who have recently lost the use of one eye need to take extra care. They may need to stop driving for a period of time until their vision has adjusted.
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From the excerpts above it is clear that one-eyed persons are allowed to drive in Delhi as well.
Please note what the Government of United Kingdom’s rules have to say about the driving issues of a one-eyed person (please refer the official link given below as viewed on 4 April, 2010) http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/MedicalRulesForDrivers/DG_10031253
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If you are the holder of a car, moped or motorcycle driving licence (group one) you may not need to inform DVLA if you have a condition which affects only one eye or have sight in one eye only. If your eyesight condition should worsen and you cannot read a number plate or you lose any of your field of vision you must write and tell the DVLA. In the interests of road safety you must be sure at all times that you can safely control a motor vehicle.
Sight in one eye only
If you have sight in only one eye you may still be able to meet the visual standards for driving set out below. It may take up to three months for you to adapt safely to driving with one eye, so please be prepared for this. In particular your ability to judge distances accurately may be affected and you may not be so aware of objects to each side of you.
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Below is an excerpt from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Please see what they are saying categorically about the one-eyed person’s driving:
(Link: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffdl14.htm viewed on 4 April, 2009)
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Minimum Visual Acuity Requirement
If you cannot meet the vision screening standard, you must have a minimum visual acuity in at least one eye better than 20/200 (best corrected). Visual acuity is a person’s ability to see items clearly and sharply and to recognize small detail.
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Presenting my case as I have above, the questions that I need answers of remain the same as stated in my earlier RTI file. I had asked for the particular Acts and the rules and/or ordinances as issued by the authorities or stated in the laws to be given to me in writing. Instead, the answers that were given to me were monosyllabic, which only betrays either the negligence or ignorance of the staff answering my question. So, as an appellate authority, as suggested in the reply to my earlier RTI, I beseech you to answer the questions in detail, more so if the answer to the first question is ‘No’, in which case I plan to seek legal justice through the courts as I believe, the denial means injustice to thousands of people like me.
Thanking you and having full faith in you,
Narayan Kumar Choudhary,
DATED: 216, Mandavi Hostel,
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi – 110067
Enclosures: 1.Copy of the Reply received from the MLO, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi
