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

An artificial intelligence (AI)-based system to check skills of driving licence (DL) applicants has drastically reduced the pass percentage, exposing flaws in the previous testing process.

The pilot project, launched at the Mohali automated driving test range four months ago using Harnessing Automobile for Safety (HAMS) technology, has brought down the pass percentage of four-wheeler driving licence applicants to 40, compared to nearly 90 earlier. The national pass percentage in driving tests stands around 65.

The new system uses smartphone-based technology and iris scanning to ensure applicants cannot send substitutes, while also evaluating their driving skills more accurately.

Official state data reveals that from September 2024 to February 2025, driving licence test success rate in Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and Phillaur ranged between 90 and 100 per cent. Phillaur alone recorded 100 per cent pass rate.

An analysis of accident data has linked poor driving skills as a leading cause of road crashes in Punjab. Based on the pilot project’s findings, the Transport Department has decided to roll out HAMS technology across all 32 automated driving test ranges in the state, with tenders already floated.

The old system, introduced in 2016, only recorded basic driving parameters such as use of seat belts, reverse gear, hand break, foot break, following signals and parking properly, but it lacked verification of the applicant’s identity. This technological loophole was central to a scam unearthed months earlier by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.

Investigators found that agents, in collusion with RTO officials, were reusing old test videos under new applicants’ names, using the same vehicles multiple times and deploying proxy drivers to pass test on behalf of others.