Gujarat is preparing to modify its AI-based driving-test system after failure rates for four-wheeler applicants touched 80%, with proposed practice sessions, wider parking areas and software changes aimed at reducing repeat failures and waiting times at regional transport offices.
The transport department’s proposal includes opening AI-based testing tracks for paid practice sessions on holidays, when regular tests are not conducted. Applicants would be able to use the actual tracks and familiarise themselves with the yellow boundary lines, parking dimensions, turns and signals before appearing for the formal test. The proposal is subject to rules and awaits final approval from the state government.
Other proposed changes include placing cones along the parallel-parking stretch, slightly widening the parking area and modifying the testing software to provide applicants with the benefit of the doubt in borderline cases. Result display boards would also be moved to the front of the track so applicants can view their results without losing sight of the finish line.
Transport commissioner Rajender Kumar said the department was planning to install cones along the parallel-parking section and increase the parking space because the pass percentage had been low. His comments were reported as part of the department’s proposed changes to the AI-driven testing process.
Parallel parking has emerged as the largest obstacle for four-wheeler applicants in Ahmedabad, accounting for nearly 80% of failures, according to officials cited in the report. Under the current arrangement, even a slight touch or crossing of the yellow boundary line results in an automatic failure. Officials said cones would help applicants judge the parking boundaries, while additional space would provide more room to manoeuvre.
The proposed software change is intended to address borderline errors that currently result in an automatic failure. The transport department is also planning to move the result boards because some candidates reportedly overshoot the finish line while looking sideways at their results.
The high failure rate has contributed to growing appointment backlogs across Gujarat. Applicants seeking four-wheeler tests in Ahmedabad are facing waits of 50 to 55 days, while the reported waiting period is 45 to 51 days in Rajkot. In Surat, applicants are waiting 35 to 45 days, and the wait in Vadodara has extended to nearly two months.
Ahmedabad’s AI-based track currently conducts about 100 to 110 four-wheeler tests and 160 to 180 two-wheeler tests each day. The report said nearly 80% of light motor vehicle applicants failed during the first month of AI-based testing in Ahmedabad, compared with 30% of two-wheeler applicants. Across Gujarat, officials estimated failure rates at about 80% in urban areas and 75% in rural areas.
To increase testing capacity, the department is planning a second AI-based driving-test track at the Subhash Bridge RTO in Ahmedabad. The facility is expected to become operational in about eight months. Additional testing facilities are also being planned in Rajkot and Surat, while the proposed changes to the testing rules and software await state government approval.
