The Age Limit

Our incompetent government has decided to introduce new age limit for those who want to get their driving license for public transport vehicles. Earlier, the minimum age to drive our public vehicles was 21 but now, you have to 25 years old and on top of that, you have to pass your class ten exams.

Every year, more than half of our SLC candidates fail their exams. Hundreds of thousands of young folks who want to drive our public vehicles will now have to wait until they are 25 and must have passed their SLC by then. 

And if one is a SLC Pass then one would rather pursue further education or maybe take other vocational classes so that he or she can go abroad to make a few more Dinars and Ringgits instead of driving our public vehicles. 

Maybe our government is planning to introduce driverless public vehicles with the help of Google soon because if the 'class ten pass' thing is implemented then we won't have anybody driving our public vehicles.

Our government thinks that raising the age limit and having a minimum education requirement will prevent road accidents across the country. Our sarkari hakim sahebs should focus on providing us better roads and directing our traffic personnel to strictly monitor speeding, weight limit on goods carried and not allow public buses to overload with passengers. 

But of course, our government agencies don't want to take the blame. Yes, blame the rowdy drivers and their khalasis. Blame the common folks for not listening to the traffic cops and sitting on roof tops of public vehicles without worrying about their safety. 

Just because one is 25 and a SLC pass does not mean that he or she will drive safely and follow all traffic rules. If one is able to read and write then one is considered literate. If our new drivers are able to read the signs and follow the speed limit then that should be enough. Why is our incompetent government introducing new rules that don't make sense? 

You don't need to take biology, physics and chemistry classes to drive a public vehicle. It should be mandatory for our public vehicle drivers and his or her crew to carry first-aid kit and know CPR. 

It would be better if our drivers and their khalasis took some classes from health workers on how to make a sling, attended to minor medical emergencies and even deliver babies if needed. 

Yes, passing your ten class English exams is great but it is okay if our drivers don't know who Shakespeare is or can't recite any poems by Alfred Tennyson. If our driver can belt out few Narayan Gopal hits or the latest Dohori numbers then that should be good enough.

Our sarkari hakims tell us that 70% of the road accidents in the country are due to the negligence of our drivers. Our government has also formed a taskforce to find out the reasons for road accidents and come up with solutions to prevent such accidents in the future. Instead of wasting money on committees to investigate this and that, just build better roads and maintain them.

Maybe, our government should introduce new rules for contractors building our roads. Our Road Department wallahs should also be held accountable along with our slimy contractors for roads that don't last a few months after completion. 

When it comes to road accidents, if we can control speeding by our public bus drivers then road accidents in the country could be minimized. And the number one problem is our mobile phones. 

It seems that nearly all of our public vehicle drivers like to either talk on their phones or fiddle around for songs on their playlist while driving along the narrow roads. 

Folks who want to apply for public transport driving licenses must also have two years of experience driving lighter vehicles. That means, you can still apply to drive big buses even if you have two years experience driving around town in a Nano. 

Our government should start a driving institute for those interested to drive public vehicles and the classes must run for at least a year. Hundreds of thousands of young folks can take the classes, get certified by qualified instructors and they could make some decent money driving heavy-load vehicles in the Middle East. 

Before heading abroad, we can make it mandatory for them to drive our public vehicles in the country for at least two years. Then, we won't have to worry about not having enough folks to drive our public vehicles.

The maximum age limit for new license applicant is set at 59.  Whoever came up with the age limit should be awarded with a President Medal. I think our cabinet should further endorse the age limit for politicians as well. 

Yes, we are okay with a 25-year-old becoming an MP and the maximum age limit should be 59. So by the time, one is 63, he or she will step down and be a mentor for other politicians or engage in social service instead of hogging the limelight and staying in power until one drops dead.

We should also have a two year experience for our future MPs. They should at least work two years in a rural area before they can qualify to stand for election. 

And yes, let's raise the bar when it comes to education. Instead of just a SLC pass, we should have MPs who at least have a Bachelor's Degree and can speak, read and write simple English so that they don't get lost when in transit in international airports.