RTOs suck!!!

It been a long time since I have written a "I have been wronged, the world is an evil place" sort of rant. So I thought I give it a shot again! And this time the focus of my ire is the RTO.

The RTO is, according to me, a waste of time, money, human power(If you consider the people working at RTOs as humans. They seem more like paperweights to me!) and space! If its two major functions are to be considered, vis-a-vis, the registration of vehicles and the licensing of drivers, they serve no ultimate purpose! The only thing registration of vehicle does, is it gives the owner a government paper saying the vehicle belongs to him! But one has to ask, is it really necessary? Couldn't the cash memo from the dealer and the insurance of the vehicle do the same? In fact, the insurance papers should be enough! If the driver or someone in the car cant provide a proper ID matching with the name on the insurance papers, then its probably something worth investigating! I can hear nitpickers saying that how will someone recognize the vehicle! Then I say, that there is a damned chassis number on the vehicle! Now again, I can hear some idiot saying what if the insurance papers are faked? Then to that idiot, I answer that what the insurance people should do is provide with a laminated card, containing the name of the owner, his/her photograph, the make of the car, the chassis number, the engine number and all other sorts of information pertaining to the owner and the vehicle! They could also provide a hologram or a chip on that card, which would make it difficult to fake. And think of all the money that the people will save! No registration charges. Just a little more over the premium paid to the insurance company. And also a surety that everyone will have insurance!

And given the kind of people who drive on the roads, it seems that any Tom, Dick and Harry is given a license! I think, if someone tries hard enough, they can get licenses for their pets! So, why even worry about the licenses! I mean, 300 people die every year on Pune roads, even with all the mumbojumbo. If driving licenses are not made mandatory, will more people die? Will there be more accidents? Probably yes, one might say. So, is there a valid replacement for licenses? (Well, parental control, for one. Especially on Delhi roads!) Again, the insurance companies seem a very likely method. While giving the insurance for a vehicle, you also specify who is likely to drive the vehicle. So now lets say a husband and wife buy a Luna (Do they still make them?) They specify that both will drive. So, insurance companies give 2 cards. One for the husband and one for the wife. Now, as insurance companies are not very interested in paying out claims, they will definitely have a stringent driving test taken out. If you pass, you get the insurance, otherwise you dont. This also ensures a better quality control of drivers.

Now the one obvious flaw in the scheme is what if the insurance companies bully the people(That's very unusual!). Isn't there a regulatory body to control this? One which controls the policies and stuff of the companies. And secondly, I feel the mutual competition of the companies will control it effectively by itself!