Driving license test: Make ADTTs mandatory, consumer body to government

COIMBATORE: Expressing concern over a sharp rise in failure rate following the introduction of Automated Driving Test Tracks (ADTTs) for driving license examinations, the Coimbatore Consumer Cause (CCC) has urged the state government to make it mandatory for all licensed driving schools to establish ADTTs or equivalent standardised training facilities.

“The introduction of computerised driving test tracks has significantly enhanced transparency, objectivity and uniformity in the licensing process. The absence of similar training infrastructure in driving schools has created a serious mismatch between training and testing,” said K Kathirmathiyon, secretary of CCC, in a representation to the Additional Chief Secretary to the Government, Home Department.

Referring to reports that only one applicant passed the four wheeler driving test during the first month of implementation of ADTT at a Regional Transport Office (RTO) office in Thoothukudi, the consumer body claimed that the present failure rate is around 90 per cent for four-wheeler licence applicants and 30 per cent for two-wheeler applicants.

Such unusually high failure rates have prompted many applicants to seek driving licence tests at other RTO offices without ADTT.

To address these shortcomings, the CCC has urged the state government to make it mandatory for every licensed driving school in Tamil Nadu to establish ADTT or an equivalent facility conforming to standards prescribed by the transport department.

“The existing driving schools should be granted a reasonable transition period to create the required infrastructure, while making the provision of an approved training track a mandatory precondition for granting licenses to new driving schools. Also, the introduction of ADTT is intended to enhance road safety by ensuring that driving licenses are issued only to genuinely competent drivers.”