In October last year, the LTO considered scrapping the driver’s license exam requirement. Obviously, this did not happen. Fast forward to today and the agency has deemed the exam to be rather long and is now considering shortening it. This is in line with the Land Transportation Office’s goal to simplify their processes and ultimately, stop the proliferation of fixers.
LTO wants to compress the Driver’s License exam
Photo: LTO
The presence of fixers both inside and outside the walls of the LTO has been a problem since time immemorial. Concerning the application for driver’s licenses, LTO Chief Jay Art Tugade admits that the long and time-consuming process for acquiring one is a reason why citizens would patronize a fixer’s services.
It’s in this light that the driver’s license exam is being looked into, and the possibility of it being shortened is being considered.
Currently, it takes about one (1) hour to complete the exam. Given this, Tugade has ordered the creation of a committee to study the current line-up of questions and, if possible, shorten the exam without compromising the quality of education and the quality of passing drivers themselves after taking the “compressed” exam.
“The instruction I gave to our committee was to compress the exam. This exam reportedly takes about an hour. The agency is now studying how to shorten the exam. I believe that by reducing the exam duration, our applicants will not seek out fixers and will opt to take the exam themselves,” LTO Chief Tugade said.
The lineup of tests that are being reassessed includes those for new applicants for non-professional and conductor’s licenses, the exam for changing classifications from non-professional to professional, and the exam for adding driver’s license codes.
Alongside shortening the time required to complete these exams, the LTO committee is also looking at “customized” questions; exams that will have questions relevant to the driver’s license’s classification or the license code that the applicant wishes to add.
Do you think that all this work that leads to a shorter exam will help curb the presence and activities of fixers? It’s one possible deterrent, sure. But what we’d like to know are the other, more solid and long-term plans the agency has in line to get rid of and punish these individuals. That should get every law-abiding citizen a lot more excited.
