Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL), the pioneer auto manufacturer in Indian auto market, has kick-off a new phase of Maruti Suzuki-Autocar Young Driver competition. With this programme, the company promotes its approach of safe driving amid the young drivers. This contest is designed to encourage secure driving habits among youths, who cater towards a larger section of society in transforming the roads safer for every individual. The winner of this competition will be considered as the ‘Safety Ambassador’ and will be provided with a 'Maruti Suzuki A-Star'. Being a ‘Safety Ambassador’, the winner of this competition will encourage safe driving techniques.
In this contest, youngsters from different regions including rural as well as urban are taking part to demonstrate their driving techniques. This competition is designed for the individuals, who fall in the age group of 18 to 30. The programme made its debut in 2009 and received irresistible reaction from the youngsters all over the country. Owing to the overwhelming response, the company added two new categories this year. The first one is dedicated towards women, while the other one is exclusively for corporate, wherein they will promote young employees to enjoy safe driving.
Addressing the programme, Manohar Bhat, Chief General Manager, Marketing, MSIL, said, “For over a decade now Maruti Suzuki has been working on road safety and safe driving through a number of nationwide initiatives. We believe that involvement of youth will act as catalyst towards taking up safe driving habits, as they are the key drivers of any change. Such a contest not only imparts awareness, but it also makes driving an enjoyable experience for those behind the wheel.”
The registration process is carried online which is currently in process and will last till 8th June 2012. The selection process has various stages, including online driving skill test, which is the first stage of the competition. Individuals qualifying this stage will move to the second round wherein they will go through a theory test as well as practical test. All these practices will be carried out from 13th June 2012 to 30th June 2012 at the 110 Maruti Driving Schools (MDS), which are spread in 65 cities of the country. Individuals qualifying for the final round will be called at Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR), New Delhi.
With this programme, the company has shown keen interest in improving road safety and reducing the number of deaths and injuries because of road accidents. Maruti Suzuki has not just taken this programme as a social initiative, but as an integral responsibility. This programme is important for long term business of the company, which demands focus as well as investments. Maruti Suzuki has taught safe driving skills to more than 700,000 individuals through MDSs and IDTRs. Among these figures, 100,000 underprivileged were trained free of cost.
In collaboration with its official distributors, the company has based Maruti Driving Schools in city neighbourhoods, which enable medium-class families to gain knowledge of car driving. The attempt of Maruti Suzuki to deliver quality driving training sessions to individuals is supported by localized simulators, professional management and monitoring. Along with simulators, the company also uses precisely designed curriculum that maintain a balance between attitude training, skill and certified instructors, which are skilled at practice as well as theory. MDS provides secure training surroundings, especially to women.
At the commencement of IDTRs, the company bring-in advanced driving training amenities to India. These facilities include a specifically designed multi-lingual theory curriculum, systematically made driving tracks and world class simulators for driving which imitate the driving conditions of India. Currently, the programme of IDTR is operated at 6 locations in four states of the country, namely Delhi (2 centres), Haryana (2 centres), Gujarat and Uttarakhand. The IDTR centre in Gujarat provides the training of safe driving to tribal communities.
