Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 19: For examining driving skills and mechanical fitness of commercial vehicles, Jammu and Kashmir will soon have two high tech driving institutes as the State Government is mulling a series of initiatives to improve road safety for checking the increasing number of accidents.
The two scientific projects, one each in Jammu and Srinagar, are coming up with an approximate cost of Rs 35 crore for which the State Government has also transferred land to the Transport Department, official sources informed the Excelsior.
Detailed Project Report (DPR) of these high tech schools is being prepared in consultation with Roads and Building Department and the same is likely to be submitted to the concerned authorities by September-October this year for further action such as allotment of job work, sources added.
With the setting up of these high-tech institutes, the Government aims to improve road safety habits and examine the driving skills among motorists besides ensuring hundred percent mechanical fitness of the commercial vehicles before issuing mandatory fitness certificate.
Modeled on international lines, these schools will provide classroom, practical and attitude training to aspiring motorists besides real-life road condition to them for practical training. With the help of scientific devises and real-life road conditions, the learners will be provided operational skills like enhancing judgement, decision-making, drive at foggy weather, night and in dim light, uphill and downhill etc. More significant is the fact that aspirants will have to pass all these tests for getting a driving license.
Ghaink near Bhalwal in outskirts of Jammu city and Paripora in Srinagar have been chosen for setting up of these high tech driving schools, sources informed adding that modeled on these two upcoming scientific projects, the Government has also planned to set up similar regional schools in hilly districts of the State.
Besides imparting training to the learners and used for test drive for issuing driving license to the aspirant motorists, the high-tech schools will also help the Transport authorities for examining cent percent mechanical fitness of the commercial vehicles, sources explained.
On being contacted, Transport Commissioner Sanjeev Verma confirmed that the process was on for setting up high-tech driving schools to test perfect driving skills and ensure cent percent mechanical fitness of the commercial vehicles.
“The Government is highly concerned about the mounting road accidents due to negligence of drivers and mechanical fault of the vehicles. Main objective of setting up these scientific projects is to bring down the number of accidents and we are hopeful to do so,” he added.
Mr Verma also informed that as part of series of initiatives to improve road safety measures, the Transport authorities were soon going to start Verbal Test (VT) for the aspirants of Learner License, which has recently been made online. “Required infrastructure for the same is being raised and the test is likely to be introduced very soon, he said.
Follow our WhatsApp channel