The Hindu : Karnataka News : Take on the simulator to get driving licence

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Wednesday, Oct 10, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Take on the simulator to get driving licence

Govind D. Belgaumkar

The machine, priced at over Rs. 10 lakh apiece, helps officials know if one has fundamental knowledge

— Photo : R. Eswarraj

NEW EQUIPMENT: An aspirant undergoing a skill test at the RTO office in Mangalore on Tuesday.

MANGALORE: People seeking four-wheeler driving licence in some districts of the State and four RTO limits in Bangalore will have to test their skills on a simulator before going on the actual track.

The driving simulator, installed at a cost of over Rs. 10 lakh apiece, lets the officials know whether the learning licence holder has some fundamentals right or not. The computer-controlled device can be tough on the people trying their luck with it.

It is like a videogame, where you move the steering wheel watching how your vehicle is moving on the tracks that appear on the screen in front of you. It gathers speed as you move to higher gears and press the accelerator.

One finds it difficult to steer it well when it has gathered speed. Overconfidence can spoil your chances of passing. You will suddenly see that you have gone far away from the track and you lose a few marks. If you slow it down and bring it back to the track, you may stand a chance of passing.

If the clutch operation is not in order, the simulator’s computer will not accept your failures.

It stops functioning and displays a message, “clutch error.” You will have to start all over again. Similar message is displayed for any mistake in switching gears. In real life you may skip second gear from the fourth but try that with the simulator at your own risk.

Mangalore Regional Transport Officer D. Sadashiva said the simulator will photograph you the moment you start operating it. “You cannot impersonate,” he said.

If you forget to wear the belt, the ignition of the simulator refuses to obey you.

Apparently, driving the simulator needs concentration even for an experienced driver. A man who tried it in Mangalore on Tuesday said he had been driving a car for five years but he barely managed to pass the simulator test.

You get a printout with your photograph at the end of the test. It gives the details of the mistakes committed.

In Mangalore, on an average, about 20 people take the test a day. Almost 90 per cent of them pass the test, according to an official.

Mr. Sadashiva said only those who pass the test would be allowed the take the test on the actual tracks. “What is the use of testing people on the roads when they not got the fundamentals right?” he asked. A representative of the company which has supplied the units said the simulators have been installed at the district headquarters of Gulbarga, Mysore, Belgaum, Dharwad and Mangalore.

The four RTOs in Bangalore that have the equipment are Koramangala, Rajajinagar, Jayanagar and Yeshwanthpur.

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