Odisha’s first automated driving test centre in Bhubaneswar
Applicants can now get a driving licence in minutes with the transport department deciding to set up the Odisha’s first automated driving test centre as well as a vehicle inspection and certification unit in Bhubaneswar shortly.
Prevalence of rampant corruption in issuing driving licences not only escalates the cost of the service but also increases the social and economic cost in the country. Considering that India already has the highest instances of road accidents in the world, there is an urgent need to introduce reforms.
Fitness of vehicles and giving license to proper drivers would help in reducing vehicular emission and incidents of road accidents, said transport commissioner Chandra Sekhar Kumar.
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“The fitness of vehicles is crucial. The centre will help eliminate human error and improve test efficiency of vehicles,” said Kumar, who recently visited Nasik to visit the first such centre in the country.
The automated centres would have facilities to train drivers, issue them licences in a short while and also the facilities to check the fitness and certify vehicles. Each centre would come up on one acre – for which the process of land identification is on.
A person can visit the centre with the vehicle, ride or drive it at the place – and the automated systems installed there would analyse the data and decide whether the applicant is eligible to get a licence. Once the system approves it, the licence would be issued in about 40 minutes.
The automated vehicle inspection and certification centre will also function in a similar manner to check the fitness of the vehicles and certify them. At present, the fitness test of vehicles and the task of issuing licences to the applicants are done manually.
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The proposed centres would come up at six places in the state including in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The centres would provide various checks including PUC (Pollution under control) certification, speedometer calibration, brake adjustment, suspension testing and wheel alignment checks among others.
Accidents claim more than 10 lives every day, official sources said. About 12 per cent of the total road length in Odisha comes under National Highway and State Highways but over 75 per cent of accidents occur on these roads.
