At automated driving test tracks in Delhi, failures up

The proportion of people successfully clearing driving tests has declined sharply since April this year, when all 13 test centres in Delhi became completely objective and fully automated, according to government data and officials.

The Lado Sarai testing track was the last to be equipped with an advanced driving test track (ADTT) in March. Since then, according to transport department data, the proportion of people clearing the test at the centre has reduced to 46% (1,768 out of 3,842) as against the 87% (4,036 in 4,640) recorded in the last three months when the tests were conducted manually.

The increase in the failure rate tracks across test centres. The Delhi government started automating its driving test tracks in 2018-19, with the first four such centres opening at Mayur Vihar, Sarai Kale Khan, Shakur Basti, and Vishwas Nagar. The percentage of people passing at these four centres fell to 34% in 2018-19 (6,090 out of 17,515) from 85% (10,423 out of 12,445) in 2017-1018,according to the data collated in March this year.

Around 150 to 170 tests are conducted in a day at ADTTs, and the number varies between 180 and 210 at day-and-night centres on a daily basis, according to officials. However, while the percentage dropped sharply at each centre soon after automation was introduced, the percentage of those passing gradually increased at these four centres to 43% in 2019-20, 51% in 2020-21, 56% in 2021-22 and to about 64% in 2022-23.

Officials attribute this to better training by applicants before appearing for the test. “Automated test tracks are an important part of our road safety initiative as eliminating human discretion ensures that only trained drivers secure a license. The percentage of applicants qualifying the driving skill tests through the automated tracks is lower than through the manual version, which is good as this will motivate the applicants to actually train well before starting to drive,” said Ashish Kundra, Delhi transport commissioner and secretary. The number of people appearing for tests across Delhi has increased. The transport department had issued 1.61 lakh driving licences in 2018, while the number increased to 2.08 lakh in 2022.

Manual tests were conducted in open fields near RTO offices with a makeshift track created using traffic cones. A driver’s performance was judged by motor vehicle inspectors (MVI), and the results depended on their subjective judgement.

At automated centres, license seekers get tested using video analytics without any human intervention in a 10-minute cycle. MVIs simply follow the status of the test on a computer screen while the movement of the vehicle is tracked using sensors. If the driver makes a mistake, it is immediately flagged.

The series of tests include the “Reverse S” test, an “8-formation” test, overtaking, stopping at a zebra crossing and waiting for the red light to turn green, parallel parking, and a gradient track test where one has to go uphill, and stop on the slope till the red light turns green.

Failing any of the tests leads to instant elimination.

For several years, the process of getting driving licenses was marred by improper checks, according to independent studies and former transport officials.

According to a survey by road safety advocacy group SAVELife Foundationin 2017, 54% of the people who got their driving licenses in Delhi never actually sat behind the wheel. Sarika Panda Bhatt, co-founder, Raahgiri Foundation, said, “Automation of driving centres is an extremely important step towards reducing road crashes. However, driver education should also include driver behaviour for which enforcement is needed.”