In Delhi, roughly 50% of applicants taking the automated driving test fail, with success rates below 45% at the test centres in Rohini, Raja Garden and Shakur Basti. Delhi govt’s transport department said that in Jan-Aug, the pass percentage in driving tests for light motor vehicles (vans, small trucks, jeeps, sedans, hatchbacks, small SUVs and autorickshaws) at the 12 automated driving test tracks was 54%. In the manual tests, the pass percentage was higher at around 80%.
Driving tests in Delhi were automated in May 2023. Of the 1.9 lakh individuals who scheduled an appointment for LMVs, 1.6 lakh appeared for the test and 67,990 were successful in getting a licence. For two-wheelers, 1.9 lakh people booked an appointment, 1.1 lakh showed up and 60,142 passed the test. In total, 2.4 lakh of 3.8 lakh who sought appointments appeared for the test, of whom 1.3 lakh passed.
The Burari automated driving test track (ADTT) saw the highest pass percentage at 72%, Dwarka had 56%, Hari Nagar 45%, Jharoda Kalan 50%, Lado Sarai 50%, Loni Road 57%, Mayur Vihar 48%, Raja Garden 45%, Rohini 45%, Sarai Kale Khan 52%, Shakur Basti 35% and Vishwas Nagar, 61%.
A transport official said that the track at Burari was wider, resulting in a higher pass percentage.
Another official explained that at the ADTTs, driving licence seekers are tested on their driving skills by video analytics technology with zero human intervention all within a 10-minute cycle. “These scientifically engineered test tracks assess various driving abilities, including reverse parallel parking, negotiating up-gradients, manoeuvring reverse-S patterns, emergency braking, and riding on ramps. As a result, a lot of people fail. But it is better to fail people than to have unskilled drivers on the road,” the official said.
In the automated driving licence test, applicants are tested on 24 parameters through sensors and cameras installed on the tracks. With no human intervention, the drivers could either ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ the test, depending on their ability to complete all the tasks as per rules.
The transport department issued 1.6 lakh driving licences in 2023-24.
Amit Bhatt, MD, International Council on Clean Transportation India, said, “Delhi has a lower pass percentage than other cities, but that doesn’t mean that everyone driving on the road is skilful. If that were true, then the crash rate in Delhi wouldn’t be so high.” He added that there was a necessity to have a minimum criterion for driving skills across the country because it is earlier to get a licence in many states. Bhatt said that in developed countries, people are also tested in actual road conditions. “This is not possible in Delhi due to the large volume of applicants. But we can use simulators as an alternative,” he said.
Anil Chhikara, faculty at Asian Institute of Transport Development, said, “Not everyone who is failing in Delhi can be said to be unskilled because these tests are based generally on manoeuvrability.” He felt applicants needed to be given more chances in these tests.
