Two million mark is crossed by Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) at its driving training facilities in the country.
MSIL started the safe driving initiative with Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) in partnership with Delhi Government in the year 2000, where just now it reached the mark of two million.
According to the numbers, Maruti Suzuki currently manages six IDTRs including two in NCR and one each in Dehradun, Baroda, Rohtak and Bahadurgarh, in partnership with state governments. These institutes offer learner and refresher courses, including to commercial vehicle drivers. The institutes had also lent numerous trainees to find better employment opportunities after completing their training program. Over 1.3 million people have trained at IDTRs.
Apart from the said, this Indian carmaker operates 320 Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) across the country in collaboration with dealers. MDS offers trainees driving simulators and a mix of class-room and practical training by trained instructors (including women). Over half the people trained at MDS are women.
Mr Mayank Pareek, Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Sales), Maruti Suzuki India said, “India needs high-quality training in safe driving on a massive scale. We are happy that we have touched two million people, but realise that this is only a drop in the ocean. Various corporates and all stakeholders have to collaborate to make India’s roads safe for its users”.
“We value the support of state governments and dealers in this effort, and are committed to scale up our effort”, he added.
Continuing further, Maruti Suzuki expects to train another 5 lakh people in safe driving in 2014-15.
Just to brief some other details about the IDTRs and MDS, they also have customized programs for corporate employees, women and police and paramilitary personnel to expand the reach of safe driving practices. Approximately 5000 tribal youth in Gujarat, many of them landless workers, found jobs or turned successful entrepreneurs after being trained in the residential program at IDTR, Baroda, run by Maruti Suzuki in partnership with Gujarat government. Under its Safe Driving initiative, Maruti Suzuki also has “Train the Trainer” program that helps to multiply the impact.