New guidelines pushed in getting driver’s license

CEBU, Philippines - Applicants no longer need to attend lectures prior to taking an exam for a non-professional, professional, and conductor’s license.

This is one of the guidelines stipulated in the proposed new guidelines for driver’s license application process at the Land Transportation Office.

Under the proposed guidelines, instead of scheduled lectures, the applicant shall undergo written examinations in the form of the Basic Driving Theory Test (BDTT), the result of which will be disclosed right after.  

Applicants who fail to pass the BDTT and/or the Practical Driving Test cannot take the same test within a month from the date of the last examination, the proposed guidelines stated.

If the applicant fails to pass the practical driving test twice in a year, he/she can retake the same only after a year later. However, if the applicant still fails to pass on the third try, he/she would no longer be allowed to re-apply.

Gabby Cruz, president of the Cebu Truckers Association Inc., suggested that instead of a “pass or fail” rate, those who fail the written examinations should be given remedial exams.

Greg Perez, coordinator of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mgaTsuper at Operators Nationwide, opposed the exams because taking the same would be a struggle for the elderly drivers.

 “Hatagan nato og chance ang mga professional drivers. Nabalaka mi nga di makapasar labi na ang mga tiguwang ana nga exams,” Perez said.

Alex Bordadora, chairman of VUDTRASCO, said driving is a matter of skill and not merely a theory.

 Bordadora and Julieto Flores, spokesperson of the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association, suggested that instead of letting them take exams, drivers should instead be made to undergo trainings and/or seminars.

For a student driver’s permit, an applicant is mandated to submit an authenticated birth certificate issued by the National Statistics Office and medical certificate issued by a licensed physician.

Also in the proposed new guidelines is increasing the minimum age of a student driver permit applicant from 16 years old to 17 years old.

Flores did not agree, saying the age requirement should even be decreased to 15 as children nowadays are “very intelligent.”

Under the proposed guidelines, written examinations shall be specific to the type of motor vehicle sought to be driven. For tricycles (Restriction Code 1), light vehicles (Restriction Codes 2, 4 and 6) and heavy vehicles (Restriction Codes 3, 5, 7 and 8).

Flores, the president of Cebu South Mini-Bus Operators Association, said there should be Restriction 9, which is exclusive for bus drivers.

  LTO-7 Director Arnel Tancinco said all suggestions and comments of the participants in yesterday’s consultation are noted and will be incorporated into the final set of guidelines.  (FREEMAN)