Although Udupi is a district headquarters, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) here lacks a test driving track.
The test driving is conducted on about 800 metres of road in front of the RTO here. Since this road reaches a dead end, there is not much traffic on it.
As there is no automated test driving track, the motor vehicle inspectors have to test the driving skills of those seeking licences for two- wheelers and four-wheelers on the available road.
However, manual testing of driving skills cannot match automated or computerised testing. A test driving track is vital as it will have all real situations including steep climb, zigzag, curves, parallel and horizontal parking, besides various road signs.
“An automated driving test track has sensors to record even a minute mistake. Hence, driving skills are tested better and quicker,” Ramakrishna Rai, Assistant Regional Transport Officer in-charge, said.
The number of persons seeking driving licences at the RTO is increasing. On an average, motor vehicles inspectors are testing the driving skills of nearly 80 two-wheeler drivers and four-wheeler drivers a day.
The rush can be gauged by the driving licences issued for different categories of vehicles in May, 2016. They included 1,464 driving licences for riding motorcycles; 895 for driving cars, 50 for autorickshaws, 30 from trucks and 29 for buses.
Meanwhile, the district administration allotted five acres of land near the Suvarna Karnataka Complex for the construction of test driving track at Alevoor village, about 8 km from here, about a year and a half ago.
The State government sanctioned an automated test driving track for Udupi in its budget for 2015-16. However, the Transport Department released only Rs. 64 lakh for the construction of compound wall for the five acres of land. The construction has been completed.
According to S.B. Surendrappa, Deputy Commissioner of Transport and Senior Regional Transport Officer, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation has completed the survey for the construction of automated driving track and submitted a plan to the Transport Department in Bengaluru about a month ago.
“After considering the plan, the department will entrust the construction work of the test driving track to an agency. It might take about a year for the construction of the track,” he added.
