Like commercial vehicles, soon private vehicles need to get fitness test done at automated testing stations

NEW DELHI: Soon all private vehicles like cars and bikes will have to get their fitness and pollution tests done at automated test stations (ATS) for renewal of registration as it is in the case of commercial vehicles. The ATS or the inspecting officer will also need to upload at least a 10 seconds geotagged video of the vehicle at the time of fitness test before issuing any certificate.

The road transport ministry has proposed key changes in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, including this, through a draft notification to prevent the malpractice of vehicle owners managing to get fitness certificates even without visiting ATS or other testing centres. This also gains significance in the light of increasing concern over air pollution and fitness of vehicles.

Fitness certificate is mandatory for renewal of registration of private vehicles after attaining 15 years, and subsequently, in every five years.

As per the draft notification, private vehicles, like commercial ones, will need to visit ATS, where these are established, for fitness tests. At present, there are over 160 ATS operational across the country.

To ensure that the certificates are issued after carrying out genuine tests, the draft notification says that “the renewal of a certificate of fitness shall be made only after uploading at least a 10 seconds geotagged video of the vehicle at the time of fitness test, capturing the vehicle from front, rear, right side and left side ensuring clear visibility of the registration number plate, chassis number, engine number and features of the vehicle” by an authorised testing station or inspecting officer after carrying out the specified tests.

In a bid to avoid vehicle owners using legal provisions to apply for multiple re-tests after vehicles fail to pass the fitness test, the proposed norms say that if a vehicle is not declared as ‘fit’ within 180 days from the first date of vehicle declared as ‘unfit’ the vehicle shall be categorised as ‘End of Life Vehicle (ELV)’ and flagged in the Vahan database as ‘ELV’.

Officials said till now people used to get the timeline extended by simply submitting fees just days before the expiry of 180 days. “That won’t be possible any more. They need to get the fitness certificate within 180 days from the day the first test found the vehicle as unfit. Enough safeguards have been put in place to ensure that any ATS doesn’t give incorrect test result,” said an official.


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