PUTRAJAYA: PUTRAJAYA: Come June, learner drivers will no longer have the company of a Road Transport Department (RTD) officer when they are tested for qualification for a driving licence.
Instead the RTD officer, or tester, will monitor the driver’s abilities at the wheels remotely, using the automated driving test or e-Testing system.
RTD director-general Datuk Seri Shaharuddin Khalid said however, the driver undergoing the test would still be required to go through the normal circuit.
Instead of being with the driver in the car, the tester will now sit in a control room at the driving institute.
“If the driver bumps into a pole or commits a mistake, the officer will know immediately,” Shaharuddin said.
He said the new system would reduce human-to-human interaction and, in the process, enhance the integrity of the RTD.
“This is also part of our digitalisation efforts,” he told a press conference after attending the department’s monthly assembly at the Transport Ministry here yesterday.
He said the new system would also enable learner drivers to secure a date for their driving tests instantly.
The system is currently being tested at three driving schools in Johor.
Shaharuddin said 122 driving institutes have already applied for permits to open computerised examination centres at their schools.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke had announced last year that the automated driving test would be introduced to prevent bribery and “guaranteed pass packages”.
On the issue of excessively heavy tinting of car windscreen, the RTD will now issue a summons to the driver rather than owner of the vehicle.
However, it will continue to issue a notice to direct the owner to send the vehicle for inspection within 10 days,” Shaharuddin added.
