Automated driving tests for Assam’s road safety

Safe driving is the cornerstone of road safety, as the driver’s attention, prompt decisions, and adherence to driving rules play a crucial role in averting accidents. A driving licence is the key legal instrument to certify that a driver has the skills of safe driving and has undergone required training. A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) flagging several administrative lapses and infrastructural gaps in the issuing of driving licences in Assam lays bare critical road safety hazards in the state. Rising incidence of rash driving, wrong-side driving and violation of road safety norms by drivers are pointers of these gaps pointed out in the audit report, which can be significantly reduced by ensuring strict norms in issuing driving licences. The CAG report highlights that Section 4(3) of the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, stipulates that no Learner’s Licence (LL) or Driving Licence (DL) should be issued to any person unless he/she is eligible to drive that class of vehicle. Further, as per Rules 11 and 15 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989, an applicant for an LL should be present for a preliminary test to satisfy the licensing authority that he/she possesses adequate knowledge and understanding of the traffic rules and regulations so that the candidate’s understanding of traffic rules, road signs, and driving etiquette can be evaluated. The CAG report revealed that test checks of records showed no test dates were recorded against 15 per cent of LLs (about 3.56 lakhs), which were issued during the period from 2019-20 to 2023-24 by 32 District Transport Offices (DTOs) in the state. Similarly, in the case of the issue of 16,338 DLs of licences during this period, the test dates were recorded as null. The CAG authorities rightly insist on the non-recording of test dates of learners and driving licences, indicating the possibility of licences being issued either without any preliminary driving tests or with a deficiency in the system, which violated the provisions of the Act and left substantial risks in terms of road safety. The norms as stated in the report say LL is the first step and is to be provided after passing the standardized online test. For acquiring a DL, the DTOs conduct driving tests and issue DLs to eligible applicants. For DL to operate transport vehicles, the applicant must have a DL for at least one year. The Transport Department sought to explain that certain applicants with existing DL or LL had applied for Additional Endorsement in DL (AEDL) or re-validation of expired LL, both of which were exempted from the LL test, and as a result, the LL test date appears blank in the report. The CAG, however, argued that the reply is not acceptable, as in the case of AEDL/revalidation, for which no further test was necessary, the original test date should have been recorded. Another critical gap flagged by CAG is the non-testing of all the 24 prescribed criteria to test the driver’s ability to drive a vehicle in a safe and controlled manner—basic vehicle control, parking skills, driving in traffic, road sense, ability to follow instructions, etc. The report acknowledged that during joint physical verification of facilities for driving tests, it was observed that the criteria related to the basic vehicle controls, such as stop/restart in case of emergency, use of handbrake, reverse gear, etc., are tested during driving tests in all eight selected districts. The audit findings that some other criteria, such as parking skills, road sense, change of gear at downhill/uphill, etc., are not being tested due to the non-availability of permanent driving tracks in seven out of eight selected districts is a critical gap and calls for urgent measures to ensure that all prescribed criteria of tests are strictly conducted. Joint inspections of testing facilities in eight selected DT Os also found that five out of eight districts have specific grounds for conducting driving tests, but none of the districts has the adequate length of track for driving tests. Only one DTO (Kamrup) has its own driving track, but that too without requisite facilities like video recording, downhill/uphill systems, overtake facilities, etc. A road safety audit prioritising the quality of LL and DL testing could have eliminated these gaps, but the CAG findings are a deplorable reflection of systemic neglect. The solution to the persistent problem lies in the reply by the Transport Department to the CAG authorities. The department, while accepting the audit observation, stated that once the upcoming accredited driver training centres (ADTC) with automated driving testing tracks (ADTT) are established across all districts, it would ensure a more scientific and comprehensive evaluation of driving skills, which would also enable real-time monitoring through video-graphic evidence. The implementation of automated testing tracks is no longer a choice but a top priority for road safety in Assam.