LTO eyes shortening driver’s license application exam

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Thursday announced it is looking into shortening the examination for driver’s license applicants in a bid to simplify transactions at the agency to eliminate the reliance on fixers.

In a statement, LTO chief Jay Art Tugade said that the “lengthy” procedure, which takes an hour to complete, is one of the reasons why many driver’s license applicants resort to patronizing fixers.

Tugade said he formed a committee to analyze the exam questions and instructed them to condense the content without sacrificing the purpose of licensing competent drivers with knowledge, skills and attitude.

"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," the LTO chief said.

Tugade said among the exams being studied are for those obtaining a new non-professional license, new conductor's license, changing classification from non-professional to professional, and adding driver's license code.

In addition to shortening the examination duration, the LTO chief said the newly formed committee is also studying to make the questions "customized," depending on the license classification or driver's license code the applicant is applying for.

Last month the LTO announced a shortage of plastic cards used for driver’s licenses, with many motorists being issued temporary "cards" printed out on paper. — BM, GMA Integrated News