New drivers in Dubai now will have to go through emergency and first aid training as part of driver’s training programme. This is done by Dubai Roads and Transport Authority to ensure a smooth and safe driving experience for everyone on the road.
CEO RTA Licensing Agency, Ahmad Hashem Behroozain, shared that RTA always focuses on bringing a positive change in everyone’s life through the induction of smart technologies. According to Behroozain, the emergency and first aid training programme will equip drivers to deal with emergency situations such as heart attacks when on the move.
RTA is also testing the automated yard test, another milestone in the driver’s training programme. Yard tests are done to check the basic driving skills of trainee drivers before putting them on the road for the final test.
The smart automated test system will not require the involvement of human examiners during the test. This will reduce the margin of error made by examiners, while reducing the nerve element for the trainee drivers that occurs due to the presence of human examiners at the time of test. The technology is currently being used in other countries such as South Korea, where the computer system has been working for the last 10 years examining the driving skills of drivers during the test.
DDC’s training manager Ian Littlefield shared that the similar system will be used for reducing the need of human examiners even in the final road test. The smart yard test will check for driving skills such as parallel parking, garage parking, angle parking, emergency braking, hill start and slope test. The system will be first used on light weight vehicles and only after a proven response will be implemented on heavy vehicles.
The instructors and examiners are also undergoing training as part of RTA’s policy to smoothen the testing process.