Soon, clear the track test to get a driving licence in Delhi

SKILL TEST New track will be in contrast to the existing format where driving tests are almost informally taken on main roads

Soon, driving licences will be given to Delhiites only if they are able to prove their skills in a track-based test.

In a month from now, the Delhi government is going to launch its first automated driving test centre at Sarai Kale Khan.

“The tracks at the centre will be checking the applicants’ ability to manoeuvre the vehicle on curves, rotaries and intersections and their ability to park the vehicle. The first such centre is being built at the Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR) in Sarai Kale Khan,” a transport official said.

The advanced automated driving test track, being built on four acres of land, will be equipped with sensors, CCTV cameras and other hi-tech gadgets.

Some of these tracks are being designed in an ‘8 shape’ that is meant to test the skills of negotiating a hairpin bend. Besides, road humps and elevated tracks are being laid that resemble a steep gradient.

“The scanners, censors and CCTV cameras will monitor every move of the driver and any fault would ring an alarm,” the official added. The move assumes significance as Delhi sees a huge demand in driving licences. Last year, 2.72 lakh people took permanent driving licences and 4.08 lakh others had got the learners’ licence.

The track will be in stark contrast to the existing infrastructure where driving tests are almost informally taken on main roads, which are not only dangerous but also raise questions about the credibility of the tests.

Take the example of the transport authority in Sheikh Sarai. The officers in-charge have often complained that they have to conduct the driving tests on the busy Meharuli-Badarpur road.

“At times there is so much rush on the road that the applicant is asked to drive a stretch of only about 20 metres and show if they know how to reverse. But there are a lot of other aspects to driving like manoeuvring and parking – skills that are largely assumed the driver would know. This perception is wrong and needs to change,” an official posted at the authority said.

Apart from the Sarai Kale Khan centre, which is going to benefit applicants of South Delhi, the government has identified areas in five other locations. These include – Rohini, Dwarka, Najafgarh, Loni and Mayur Vihar Phase 2.

The government also sent a team to study the automated driving track that was recently launched at Mohali in Punjab. According to the transport department, the problem it is facing is that of availability of land as such tracks need at least three-four acres to be designed. The advanced automated driving test track, being built on four acres of land, will be equipped with sensors, CCTV cameras and other hi-tech gadgets Some of these tracks are being designed in an ‘8shape’thatismeantto test the skills of negotiating a hairpin bend

Besides, road humps and elevated tracks are being laid that resemble a steep gradient