VIJAYAWADA: Though the officials of Road Transport Authority (RTA) are organising LLR melas across Krishna district, it seems that they have failed in sensitising vehicle users on the need to avail driving licence after the expiry of their learner’s licence. After participating in LLR melas, many vehicle users in the district are not showing any interest in taking permanent driving licences, officials said.
According to RTA officials, youth without driving licence account for majority of road accidents reported in the recent years. After noticing the trend, the department has formulated an action plan to organise LLR melas across the district to crate awareness among youth on road safety rules. As part of the initiative, the department has been organising LLR melas across the district for the last one year. The department has issued 79, 311 learning licences so far.
However, majority of them have failed to take permanent driving licence. The district has around 11 lakh vehicles, out of which only 2.59 lakh vehicle users have permanent driving licence issued by the department and 8.9 lakh vehicle users are yet to avail it, the officials said.
“Though vehicle users from urban areas are turning up to take driving licence, the response from vehicle users in rural areas is very poor. The break inspectors across the district were directed to conduct surprise checks to penalise the vehicle users with expired LLRs,” a transport official said on condition of anonymity.
The officials were also directed to increase the number of slots for conducting driving tests on the designated tracks at Gannavaram, Ambapuram, Gudivada, Nandigama, Machilipatnam, Vuyyuru, Nuzvid and Jaggaiahpet.