Man without arms drives past barriers, gets a licence

INDORE: Why, you might wonder, is it such big news that a 45-year-old motivational speaker from Indore has got a permanent driving licence. It is because

Vikram Agnihotri

, a double amputee, drives with his legs, and is perhaps the first person without arms to get a driving licence.

Agnihotri, who also runs a gas agency and is currently pursuing an LLb, said driving helps him feel “liberated”. “I used to have a full-time driver. But then I realised... you cannot depend on anyone for your basic needs,” he told TOI. He has an automatic gear shift car, and he holds the steering wheel with his right foot, with the left on the accelerator

When he applied for a permanent licence in October 2015, Agnihotri was asked to take a rigorous driving test on a heavy-vehicle track. “My application was rejected on the grounds that I cannot give hand signals while driving,” he said. It was a cruel blow for

Agnihotri

, but, undeterred, he approached the transport commissioner’s tribunal in

Gwalior

. Thereafter, he was given a technical reason for the rejection. “I was told my car was not designed according to a differently-abled person’s needs. But modifying a car in this manner is not common,” said Agnihotri. However, after much effort, he got it done.

He then met

Union

minister Nitin Gadkari and petitioned state ministers, but it was not before September 30 that he got his licence in the “invalid carriage” category.

Since May 2015, when he got his learner’s licence, Agnihotri has driven around 14,500km in Indore without any mishap. He now plans to drive to Leh once the situation at the border normalises.