Teenager Attempts To Get A Driver's License, Receives Brutal Reality Check: 'System Pushes You'

A teenager in West Bengal recently took to social media to vent about the attritional battle of getting a driver's license. Despite trying to follow the legal route, he claimed the system felt intentionally broken to force normal people into the arms of middlemen or "touts" just to get things moving.

"Tried getting my driving licence through the official process today instead of paying a middleman. Ended up understanding exactly why the middleman system survives," the user wrote in a Reddit post.

After booking the permanent driving license test through the Parivahan portal, the teen reached the RTO office, where the whole setup looked bizarre. The test ground was overcrowded with vehicles, and there was no proper driving test track.

"What made things weirder was that there were barely any actual officials visible there initially. Mostly random middlemen/agent-type people roaming around and handling applicants," the teen said.

"Some of them had already approached me before this too, offering to “manage” my licence for both bike and car (which I don't even know how to drive) for around Rs 7k-Rs 7.5k without even giving the actual test."

After being sent to a different location, citing paperwork formalities, the teen and his brother finally made it to the test track just before the 3 PM deadline. However, hours passed, and no update was provided. Tired and demoralised by the situation, the teen decided to return home.

"The whole experience honestly felt less like an organised government process and more like a system that indirectly pushes normal people toward middlemen out of frustration and exhaustion," he said.

"When information is unclear, processes are fragmented, officials are absent, queues are ignored, and agents operate more confidently than actual staff, it becomes very easy to understand why so many people eventually stop trying to do things properly and simply pay their way through the system."

Check The Viral Post Here:

Posts from the indianbikes
community on Reddit

Also Read | YouTuber Flying Beast Shares Video Of Watermelon Oozing 'Foam', Social Media Reacts

Social Media Reactions

As the post gained traction, the majority of social media users agreed with the teen's assessment. In contrast, others highlighted that the due process was followed in some regions of the country, particularly the South.

"I decided to do the same thing - going fully legal! Had to go three times to get my learner's license because they kept saying on or the other documents is missing," said one user, while another added: "I had zero issues taking my licence the legal way in Kerala. Didn't pay a dime to the officials. The entire process as advertised. They were also failing people who didn't do properly."

A third commented: "The system is so corrupted you actually have no option but to go via an agent. It's bad, definitely, but that's your only option. My parents told me to go to a driving school since they have connections and yeah, it all turned out very smooth."

A fourth said: "Props to you for trying to do this honestly. The entire system is a battle of attrition. I'd urge to not to buckle but I understand if you value your time too."