Get ready for automated driving tests in Chandigarh

To begin in June, will help curb corruption while issuing driving licence, do away with touts.

punjab Updated: May 28, 2018 14:34 IST
The RLA has been conducting trials for the past one week and the new facility will be made operational in the first week of June. (Ravi Kumar/HT)

Finally, after four years, the Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA) will start taking driving test for issuing licences on automated test tracks at the Children Traffic Park (CTP) in Sector 23.

Facts
  • 150 tests daily
  • The RLA will allow tests through only through online appointment
  • Around 150 tests will be conducted daily in two batches: 9am and 2pm
  • On clearing the test, driving license will be issued within a week

The RLA has been conducting trials for the past one week and the new facility will be made operational in the first week of June.

To ensure transparency and do away with touts and bureaucratic influence in the result of driving test, the RLA had proposed the project in 2014. The Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune, was allotted the work.

The new system will replace the manual one, where only one person is in charge of the test.

“The exact date for inauguration is yet to be decided, but it will be done in the first week of June,” said UT transport director Amit Talwar. “In the past, several middlemen have been arrested for helping applicants get licence despite having failed the test. This system is foolproof.”

Talwar said the new system will help reduce the number of road accidents as only those who are actually eligible will be issued driving licences.

About the project
  • 7: Tracks fitted with sensors
  • 20: CCTV cameras
  • Rs 2 cr: Project cost

Cameras and sensors

Automated tracks are specially designed roads that are fitted with sensors at every turn and curve to assess the performance and deliver results in real time.

The applicant will be asked to drive the vehicle and the performance will be recorded by overhead cameras. The cameras on the track will trace the path taken by the vehicle and display it on a computer. Also, during the test, the applicant will be issued a radio frequency identification card, which will help sensors keep track of the movement. This information will be used to evaluate the driving skills.

There are seven tracks, which include reverse track, U-turn track, wrong turn track, junction track, roundabout track and gradient track.