Maruti Suzuki begins fresh round of safe driving competition for youth

Maruti Suzuki India Limited, India’s largest car manufacturer, begins fresh round of Maruti Suzuki-Autocar Young Driver contest an initiative to spread the message of safe driving amongst the youth. Through the contest Maruti Suzuki promotes and inculcates safe driving habits amongst the youth who in turn involve the larger society in making roads safer for everyone. Youth from various regions – urban as well as rural, participate to showcase their driving skills. Started in the year 2009, the Maruti Suzuki Autocar Young Driver Contest has seen overwhelming response from youth across India. Seeing the popularity of this contest, two new categories have been added this year.

One is exclusively for women, and second for corporates to encourage their young employees towards safe driving. Speaking at the occasion, Mr Manohar Bhat, Chief General Manager, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, 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 winner of Maruti Suzuki-Autocar Young Driver contest will become the ‘Safety Ambassador’ to promote safe driving and also win the grand prize 'Maruti Suzuki A-Star'. The online registration process which is open now will close on 8th June 2012. In the process of selection, the first stage is online driving skill test, those who qualify will enter the next stage of theory test and a practical test at one of the Maruti Driving Schools. This test will be conducted across 110 Maruti Driving Schools across 65 cities from June 13th -30th, 2012. The finalists will be called at the state of the art Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR), New Delhi.

Maruti Suzuki and road safety

Maruti Suzuki is conscious that improving road safety and minimizing deaths and injuries is not just a social initiative for the company, but an responsibility. It is critical for the long term sustainability of the Company’s business, and deserves focus and resources accordingly. Maruti Suzuki India Limited has trained over 700,000 people in safe driving through IDTRs and MDSs. Out of this number 1,00,000 belong to the underprivileged section of the society who have been trained free of cost.

Maruti Driving Schools (MDS): In partnership with its dealers, Maruti Suzuki has created Maruti Driving Schools in urban neighbourhoods to enable middle class families to learn car driving. Maruti Suzuki has created a sustainable business model to impart high quality driving training at the doorstep, made possible by localized simulators, professional management and monitoring.  To widen the impact of MDS, Maruti Suzuki also sponsors training of underprivileged youth who aspire to be drivers.  Besides use of simulators, carefully designed curricula that balance skill and attitude training and certified instructors adept at both theory and practice, Maruti Driving Schools offer a safe and enabling environment for women.

With the launch of IDTRs, Maruti Suzuki introduced world class driving training facilities to India. These include a specially formulated multi-lingual theory curriculum, scientifically laid-out driving tracks and advanced driving simulators that replicate Indian driving conditions. With the launch of IDTRs, Maruti Suzuki introduced world class driving training facilities to India. These include a specially formulated multi-lingual theory curriculum, scientifically laid-out driving tracks and advanced driving simulators that replicate Indian driving conditions. Presently IDTR initiatives are operational at 6 locations in 4 states- Delhi (2 institutes), Haryana (2 Institutes); Gujarat and Uttarakhand. The IDTR at Gujarat trains the tribal communities in safe driving.