A COMPUTERIZED road testing system will be put into use for driving license applicants early next month to ensure the testing process is fair and efficient, the Shenzhen Municipal Traffic Police Bureau announced Sunday.

Test-takers will be each assigned a vehicle and an examiner randomly picked by the computer. They will have their fingerprints and pictures taken after getting registered at the testing venue in Xili so that their identities can be verified if cheating complaints are filed against them in the future.

The examiners will have to hand in their mobile phones before the test to prevent the chance of receiving a call telling them to help the examinee.

When a test-taker drives into the venue equipped with sensors, the computer system will give instructions via a receiver in the testing vehicle and at the same time make judgments about the examinee's driving skills. The test-takers can see their scores on a screen in the vehicle. The test will end automatically when an examinee has made too many mistakes to pass, while those who do pass can read their final score on the screen.

Test-takers will also need to take turns to drive to Shaoguan in northeastern Guangdong where they will get a stamp before finally being given a driving license.

Shenzhen is among the earliest Chinese cities to use a computer system in the driving test. Apart from the test on vehicle knowledge and road signs, the traffic bureau introduced a computer-monitored parking test in 2004.

Editor: Yan