Uttarakhand accident: Need to scrutinise 'hill endorsement' of drivers' licence

A day after 15 tourists died in a road accident in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag, officials said on Sunday that there was a need for greater focus on 'hill endorsement' in drivers' licences accompanied by a physical test.

Joint Transport Commissioner Sanat Singh said this checking was required for all tourist vehicles, including those part of the Chardham Yatra and the Hemkund Sahib Yatra, to reduce road accidents in hilly regions.

Many tourist vehicles come to Uttarakhand, but due to a greater volume of cars of Chardham Yatra, checking of other vehicles is ignored, Singh said.

"Now we will need to focus on tourism apart from Chardham Yatra. We will now focus on hill endorsement of driving license," the official said.

'Hill endorsement' of a driver's license is necessary for driving in mountainous roads, he said.

Singh said earlier the state did not have the facility for physical tests of 'hill endorsement', so the test was offered online. Now, driving tracks for such tests have been built with one in Dehradun alredy operational, he said.

In online tests, the driver is shown a video and questions based on it are asked. Applicants pass the test even though their practical knowledge or skills are not checked, Singh said.

Now such tracks for physical tests have been built in Haridwar and Rishikesh as well which will be operational in a month or two, the official said.

A tempo traveller carrying tourists skidded off the Badrinath national highway in Rudraprayag district and fell into Alaknanda river on Saturday, killing 15 and injuring 11.

Earlier on June 11, a bus fell into a ditch in Gangani in Uttarkashi district, killing three female devotees and injuring several others.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the officials to strictly follow all prescribed protocols to reduce road accidents in the hills. He has asked the police and transport department officials to check the mechanical condition of vehicles, strictly test the drivers before issuing licenses.

Dhami has also asked them to be careful in issuing green cards, and take strict action against drivers driving at high speed, carrying more passengers than allowed and driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to Uttarakhand government data, 1,674 accidents were reported in the state in 2022, in which 1,042 people died and 1,613 were injured. The country reported 4,61,312 road accidents with 1,68,491 deaths and 4,43,366 injuries the same year.