Delhi to get 8 more automated driving test tracks

To reduce the waiting time for driving license applicants, the Delhi government will soon construct eight more automated driving test tracks at educational institutions, including ITIs, run by it at a cost of over Rs 20 crore, officials said on Tuesday. The Transport Department recently issued a tender inviting private bidders for constructing the tracks within a five-month period, they said.

"The new automated driving test tracks will help reduce the waiting time for applicants seeking permanent driving licences. Currently, the waiting period for taking the test is around two months," a senior Transport Department official said.

There are 10 automated test tracks at the motor licensing office (MLOs) in the city and around 1,500-2,000 applications are received every day for driving skill tests, he said.


The tracks will come up at seven industrial training institutes (ITIs), Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women and Delhi Technological University in Bawana, the officials said.

The tracks will be constructed at ITIs in Pusa, Jaffarpur Kalan, Mayur Vihar, Shahdara, Jail Road and Narela. The cost of construction of the tracks will be Rs 20.68 crore, including civil and technical work, the tender document stated.

The automated tracks are used to test the skills of driving license applicants through up-gradient, forward-8, reverse-S and traffic junctions. They are marked on 24 skills including reversing vehicle on an 'S'-shaped stretch, parking, overtaking and crossing at intersections.

The automated driving test tracks will have customised software and hardware for evaluating driving skills using video analytic image without any human intervention, the tender said.

The entire system will also have a control room and server room to install the required equipment.

The automated system will acquire the instantaneous vehicle position through a video sensor supported above the track and derive position and speed data from it.

An additional wireless sensor will be placed on the ground.

The system will perform several computations to determine the driving competency of the driver such as standard direction followed, number of forwards and reverses, identification of kerb hits and number of kerb hits, average speed and time taken to complete the test, among other things.

It will allow multiple candidates to take the test on the track, besides supporting day and night functionality, the tender stated.

The system should also support video view of the test results and automated driving pattern analysis, it said.