BHUBANESWAR: Taking the test to get a driving licence (DL) is going to be a fully computerised affair in the Capital soon. For, cameras and sensors at the driving test track in Chandrasekharpur would automatically generate scores, dispensing with all kinds of manual intervention.
With the test track headed for full automation, applicants will to have to hone their driving skills and do their homework before negotiating the barriers, signals and curves.
A total of nine Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in the State has been identified for the driving test track automation. Five of them - Bhubaneswar RTO-2, Baripada, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Rourkela - will undergo the upgradation in the first phase.
Sources in the Commerce and Transport Department said tender for the automation process is being finalised. Once the tender is officially floated, the automation would be completed within six months.
While the whole process would be outsourced, the automation system would be based on Sarathi software, linked to cameras and sensors installed at the test track. The Pune-based Central Institute of Road is being approached for installation of the camera-based technology at Bhubaneswar RTO-2 located at Chandrasekharpur.
Upgradation of each test track would entail an expenditure in the range of `35 lakh to `40 lakh. However, the cost of upgradation would not be passed on to the applicants and the application fee would remain unchanged.
Even as the current system of applying for DL has already been made online like passport application, the automation would mean doing away with physical instructors. “Currently, three to four motor vehicle inspectors (MVIs) are required for the driving test supervision. Once the automation is complete, just one MVI can monitor the whole process,” said Bhubaneswar Regional Transport Officer-2 Sanjay Kumar Behera.
However, since the automation process would be outsourced, the vendor would engage its personnel for the necessary record generation and back-end work.
The driving test track at Chandrasekharpur, located on three acre land, is currently being modernised for the upgradation. It now boasts of State’s first First Aid Training Centre which has been set up by RTO-2 in collaboration with St John Ambulance’s Odisha Chapter. Since first aid certificate for drivers of passenger carriers is mandatory, the newly-established centre is now imparting training and conducting tests for them.
Behera said a driving training centre has also been set up so that all DL applicants can have a 30 minute free-training before taking the test.