People seeking permanent four-wheeler driving license in the Dehradun Regional Transport Office (RTO) limits will now have to test their driving skills on a driving simulator installed at RTO office. On Monday, the state’s first driving simulator for light motor vehicle was installed inside RTO Dehradun to examine the response of the applicants in various situations which they encounter on the road.
Sudhanshu Garg, Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Dehradun, “We have got the first driving simulator in the state. The driving simulator, installed at a cost over Rs 5 lakh, will let the RTO officials know whether the learning driving license holder has basic knowledge of driving or road sense before securing the permanent license.” According to ARTO (administration) Sandeep Saini, “An automated driving test on simulator will be made mandatory to secure a permanent International Drivers License for a four-wheeler and minimum points would be fixed for the test.”
At present, a driving test is conducted by the RTO officials inside the premises during daytime where the candidate does not face the real-life difficulty of driving. “The driving test would be of around 5-7 minutes with different driving test modules and the person sitting behind the steering wheel will be tested in different driving situations like hilly driving, rainy and foggy conditions and night driving as well,” said Sandeep Saini.
Moreover, if you forgot to wear the seat belt or commit any other mistake during the driving test, the simulator will automatically deduct the points from the total test points. However, even after passing the simulator test, one will have to go through the conventional driving test as well. Initially, the RTO staff would be imparted two-days training by the company experts on how to operate the simulator. “The simulator test would be made mandatory once the transport commissioner office decides the total points for the driving test,” said RTO official.
