Thiruvananthapuram: Automation test turns too perfect for many vehicles

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the automation of the vehicle testing centre in Thiruvananthapuram, many vehicles are finding it difficult to pass the foolproof test. This has even forced authorities to make slight relaxations in conditions. According to sources, many vehicles are failing the high beam test and the rear axle brake test at the Automated Vehicle Fitness Testing Station (AVFTS) that was commissioned in January. Vehicles that fail in the headlight test can cause danger to other vehicles as the light beams from a vehicle without properly aligned headlights could blind drivers in the opposite direction during night.

Similarly, defective rear axle brake could enhance the chance of vehicles losing control when brakes are applied, said sources. “What we have observed is that vehicles that carry out repairs at unauthorised workshops just for the purpose of fitness tests are getting disqualified, whereas vehicles that undergo repairs at authorised service centres pass the test without any hurdles,” Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) sources said. Sources at the testing centre said that most goods carriers failed the test.

Meanwhile, the MVD has decided to give a slight relaxation in the headlight test. As per the initial conditions the pitch angle, which is the angle at which the light falls on a wall from a distance of 10 metres, should be in the range of one to two degrees. It would be relaxed to three degrees as many vehicles were failing the test. Mohammed Nadeem on Keltron, which operates the AVFTS, said that it was a foolproof and tamper-proof four-stage testing and no manual alterations of the results were possible.