Motor Vehicles-Establishment of Driving Schools - Licensing and Regulation - Improving quality of driving to mould skillful drivers

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Grenda

Revised transport department guidelines outline licensing and regulatory requirements for driving schools under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. The letter cites Section 12 on licensing and regulation, emphasizing quality driver training for accident prevention and alignment with international standards. It presents state vehicle and licensing demand estimates, identifies infrastructure and training deficiencies among existing schools, and uses accident data showing most crashes stem from driver fault or negligence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages43

Reading Time1 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

Establishment and licensing framework

Legal basis under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and CMV Rules, 1989

Need for improved driving school training

Driver-to-vehicle demand and license issuance gap

Quality and infrastructure concerns

Insufficient equipment and training capability

Accident data and safety focus

Predominance of driver fault or negligence

From Thiru C.P.Singh,I.A.S.,Special Commissioner andTransport Commissioner,Chepauk,Chennai-5. Sir, Revised guidelines issued-Regarding. Transport Department To 1)The Joint Transport Commissioner,Chennai Zone,Chennai-23. 2)All Zonal Deputy TransportCommissioners 3)All Regional Transport Officersin Tamil Nadu & 4)All Motor Vehicles Inspectorsof Unit Offices. Letter R.No.51018/H1/07,Dated:31.10.2007(Circular No.43/2007) Sub:Motor Vehicles-Establishment of Driving Schools-Licensing and Regulation-Improving quality of driving to mould skillful drivers- Ref: 1)Transport Commissioner,Chennai Circular No.09/93,inR.No.81657/E5/92,dated:02.02.93 2)Transport Commissioner,Chennai Circular No.50/93,inR.No.E5/55173/93,dated:15.7.93. 3)Transport Commissioner,Chennai Circular No.4/95,inR.No.1197/E2/94,dated:10.01.95 4)Transport Commissioner,Chennai Circular No.5/95,inR.No.34394/E2/94,dated:10.1.95 5)Transport Commissioner,Chennai Circular No.50/02,inR.No.75482/H2/02,dated:13.11.02. 6)Transport Commissioner,Chennai Circular No.21/03,inR.No.H2/75482/03,dated:13.5.05 7)Special Commissioner and Transport Commissioner,ChennaiCircular No.10/07,in R.No.H1/53820/06,dated:14.3.07. You are well aware that the driving schools run by the individuals/othersare regulated by certain statutory provisions as under Motor Vehicles Act,1988and C.M.V.Rules,1989 which came into effect from 1.7.1989 vide section 12 andRules 24 to 31-A,respectively as also under various administrative instructionsissued thereunder from time to time.Section 12 of M.V.Act 1988 deals with thelicensinq and requlation of drivina schools or establishments (bv whatevername called)for imparting instruction in driving of motor vehicles and relatedmatters. 1.1.Based on the enabling provisions explained above,the CentralGovernment have framed certain rules with regard to the establishment of drivingschools,the requirements to be fulfilled by such licensees,authority competent togrant,renew,suspend/revoke such licenses and all other related matters.Besides,provisions of appeals,the procedures to be followed thereto as also thesyllabus for imparting instructions in driving of motor vehicles have beenprescribed. 1.2.Therefore,every driving school has to get a license from theconcerned licensing authority and a duty is cast upon them to produce“qualitydrivers”for which a quality training is absolutely necessary. The quality ofdrivers is also crucial to prevention of accidents.The driving schools,therefore,play a key role in producing skilful drivers who could meet the internationalstandards. 1.3 Following are the progressive details of availability /registration etc.,ofvehicles (both transport and non-transport)in our State in the past few years:- | SI.No. | Year | of
No.
non-
transport vehicles
registered | No. of transport
vehicles registered | Total | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | 2001-02 | 52,25,991 | 4,32,106 | 56,58,097 | | 2 | 2002-03 | 57,51,589 | 4,57,448 | 62,09,037 | | 3 | 2003-04 | 62,80,301 | 4,72,172 | 67,52,473 | | 4 | 2004-05 | 69,09,818 | 4,93,926 | 74,03,744 | | 5 | 2005-06 | 76,40,624 | 5,81,106 | 82,21,730 | | 6 | 2006-07 | 84,95,295 | 6,08,325 | 91,03,620 | 1.4 Thus,it can be seen that about an average of 7 to 8 lakh vehicles thatare being added every year and even assuming 10%vehicles that might be goingoff the road due to age,wear and tear etc.,atleast 7.5 lakh vehicles are gettingadded every year.This means taking the ratio of drivers to the vehicles as 1.5:1we should be issuing a minimum of above 10(Ten)lakh new driving licensesevery year.However,an average of 6 lakh licenses per annum alone are beingissued.Therefore,there appears to be a large number of not formally trained orunlicensed drivers operating on the ground.About 1650 driving schools arepresently available in Tamilnadu and going by their capacity they could

FAQs

What legal provisions are cited for regulating driving schools?

The guidelines reference the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Section 12) and the C.M.V. Rules, 1989 (Rules 24 to 31-A) governing licensing and regulation of driving schools.

Why does the department stress quality training for driving schools?

Quality training is linked to producing skilled drivers, preventing accidents, and meeting standards that could align with international requirements.

What issues are reported with existing driving schools?

Many existing schools are described as grossly ill-equipped or lacking adequate infrastructure and required skills to carry out the training effectively.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Grenda