Punjab: AI-based system exposes flaws in driving licence exam

Punjab: An artificial intelligence (AI)-based system for testing the skills of driving license (DL) applicants has drastically reduced the pass percentage, exposing flaws in the previous testing process. A pilot project launched four months ago at the Automated Driving Test Range in Mohali, using Harnessing Automobiles for Safety (HAMS) technology, has reduced the pass percentage of four-wheeler driving license applicants from around 90 to 40. The national pass percentage for driving tests is around 65. The new system uses smartphone-based technology and iris scanning to ensure applicants are not forced to refer to someone else and to more accurately evaluate their driving skills. Official state data shows that from September 2024 to February 2025, the success rate for driving license exams in Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, and Phillaur ranged between 90 and 100 percent.
Phillaur alone recorded a 100 percent pass rate. Analysis of accident data has revealed that poor driving skills are a major cause of road accidents in Punjab. Based on the findings of the pilot project, the Transport Department has decided to implement HAMS technology at all 32 automated driving test ranges in the state, for which tenders have already been issued. The old system, introduced in 2016, only recorded basic driving parameters such as seat belt use, reverse gear, hand brake, foot brake, signal obedience, and proper parking, but did not verify applicants’ identities. This technical flaw was the root cause of a scam uncovered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau a few months ago. Investigators found that agents, in collusion with RTO officials, were reusing old test videos in the names of new applicants, using the same vehicle multiple times, and deploying proxy drivers to pass the test on behalf of others.