Maruti Suzuki’s Automated Driving Test Track at Lado Sarai inaugurated

Maruti Suzuki’s Automated Driving Test Track at Lado Sarai, was inaugurated by Ashish Kundra (IAS), Principal Secretary-cum-Commissioner, Transport, Government of Delhi. With the commissioning of the Lado Sarai Automated Driving Test Track (ADTT), Maruti Suzuki India Limited has successfully automated all its driving test tracks in Delhi, as part of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Department of Transport, Government of NCT of Delhi signed in December 2017.

As part of the agreement, Maruti Suzuki’s role was to carry out construction of the test tracks, set up automation and IT system and provide maintenance support for 3 years before handover to Delhi Government.

On the occasion, Rahul Bharti, Executive Officer, Corporate Affairs, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “Maruti Suzuki has been working hard over the past two decades on all the 5 pillars of Road Safety – Engineering, Education, Evaluation, Enforcement and Emergency care. Setting up Automated Driving Test Tracks (ADTTs) by Maruti Suzuki is a one-of-its-kind initiative undertaken by the company in partnership with the Department of Transport, NCT of Delhi by use of technology for evaluation. In these ADTTs, driving license seekers get tested on their driving skills by video analytics technology with zero human intervention, all within 10 minutes cycle time. We are humbled to share, with this inauguration of our last centre, Delhi is now 100% computerized in driving license testing. We thank the Government of Delhi for giving us this opportunity, facilitation and encouragement.”

Explaining the impact of automation in licensing, Bharti added, “It is interesting to note that in the manual testing method the pass percentage of applicants stood at 84% in 2018. Soon after the introduction of ADTTs and standardization of testing, the pass percentage dipped sharply to about 34% which has gradually improved to 64% now. This suggests that candidates are now coming better prepared for their driving test. It also reflects that the license is awarded only to the skilled candidate making roads safer.”

The test tracks are designed to accurately evaluate essential driving skills in-line with Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR) which are necessary for safe and responsible driving.

The ADTTs assess candidates through a variety of tests including reverse parallel parking, 8-formation, overtaking test, traffic junction test, reverse parallel parking, gradient test for four- wheelers. In the case of two- wheelers, applicants have to drive around a serpentine track to prove their vehicle- handling and control skills, along with an emergency brake test and ramp test.