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It’s easier to get a driving licence now

DUBAI - Acquiring a driving licence in Dubai has become easier as a number of private driving schools and instructors have mushroomed all over the emirate over the past few years.

The Dubai Police have been following stringent rules governing the operation of private driving schools.

Among the set of rules to be adhered to by private driving schools in Dubai is that the school should appoint a person able to explain traffic laws and regulations to driving licence applicants, and sign a contract in this respect. Training permits also have a set of conditions, including that a coach should be of good conduct, not younger than 21 years of age and should have passed a technical test.

Brigadier Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Director of Dubai Traffic Police Department, said that in February this year, driving schools of lower standards and capabilities, when compared with advanced-level institutes, were asked to either provide better services or exit the market altogether. He also said that the police have urged the driving school owners, numbering over 200 in Dubai, to apply for new requirements or “withdraw from the market to avoid bringing motorists of low driving skills.”

According to the general public, patience and dedication is of utmost importance, both for the students and teachers. Speaking to .f+i.Khaleej Times.f-i., a number of students said that on several occasions, their instructors were seen violating traffic rules themselves.

Said A H, “Though I have a driving licence from the States, my husband wanted me to take a number of classes so as to regain my confidence. For this purpose, I enrolled in a reputed driving school.”

“But when my instructor found out that I already had a licence, he lost interest in teaching me; and during the lessons, he would be chatting on the phone and giving me instructions by waving his hands,” she complained.

Police officials said that if the driving instructor was caught talking on the phone while driving, a harsh penalty would apply on him. The police have also asked instructors to pay full attention to the trainee’s performance during training and not to allow themselves to be distracted by anything in order to maintain safety and deliver a high quality of driving instruction.

Yasmin Shakeel, a homemaker, who is double minded about applying for a driving, said, “On several occasions, I have noticed that off duty, the driving instructors are racing their cars on the roads, trying to overtake at great speeds and also zigzagging through a heavy traffic.”

“I always wonder that if the instructors are breaking rules and losing patience, how is it possible for them to teach someone neutrally?” she questioned. “For this reason, I have to think twice whether applying for a driving licence is safe or not,” she added.

Clarifying, Haresh Vaswani, Advertising and Marketing Manager, Belhasa Driving School, said that if a student reports against an instructor, different kinds of fines are imposed against the violator.

“These are heavy monetary fines, and it depends on the kind of violation done,” he said, adding that the school sends an inspection team everyday to check on the progress of the driving instructors.

Elaborating, Mr Vaswani said that during the process of selection of a driving instructor, stringent rules are followed.

“The applicant should have permission and a licence from the local area police station and should also have had a driving licence for minimum five years,” he said.

But in a move against erring driving schools, the police ordered suspension of new applicant transactions for the driving school for two weeks, said an instructor, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He said he was barred from registering new applicants for two weeks at any traffic police centre in the city because he had violated the rules of application coming as part of the recent measures to streamline procedures.

The new rules made it clear that the applicant should take at least six hours of theoretical classes to absorb the curriculum of the traffic authorities.

In another complaint, a driving licence applicant M R said, “I had this instructor who was keen on selling her goods to me. Everyday, she brought different items and insisted me to buy them. Taking classes under her instructions had become a nightmare because I thought that if I did not oblige her, she might fail me in the internal examinations.”

A spokesperson from Emirates Driving School said, “The school has a Customer Division that handles problems related to training of students, behaviour of the instructors, etc, besides addressing the communication gap between the student and teacher.”