Over the years, the transportation sector has undergone a massive change, including newer modes of transportation – for goods as well as individuals.

A key player here is the vehicle driver. It has also led to making driver training a must, which has led to mushrooming of drivers’ training institutes.

Maruti initiative

For instance, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) has been actively imparting driver training since the year 2000. The company has set up seven Institutes of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTRs) and over 450 Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) facilities to impart driving training to novices as well as to existing drivers.

The company has set up IDTRs in collaboration with State governments. Equipped with scientifically engineered training and testing tracks of international standards, modern driving simulators and well-maintained vehicles, these IDTRs follow a structured training content, including classroom lessons and practical sessions.

IDTR, Vadodara, is a successful model of road safety with jobs for the underprivileged, the company said.

“The company is working closely with the Ministry of Tribal Development in Gujarat to train tribal youth in safe driving. Besides road safety, this residential IDTR facility near Vadodra approaches driving also as an employment opportunity. In addition to good quality driving training, students also receive training in personality, hygiene, courtesy, and communication,” a senior official at the company said. Nearly 14,000 young tribal people, mostly landless farm workers and unskilled construction workers, have been trained, groomed and 75 per cent of them are employed. Their lives, as those of their families, have transformed, he said.

MSIL has a total of seven such institutes across the country — Rohtak in Haryana, Loni and Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi-NCR, Dehradoon in Uttarakhand, Vadodara in Gujarat and Aurangabad in Bihar.

Heavy vehicle training

Similarly, heavy commercial vehicle makers such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland are not far behind passenger car makers such as Maruti Suzuki, as these companies are also training drivers for special skills to drive heavy commercial vehicles.

For example, Tata Motors has five IDTR operational across the nation which are located at Ajmer (Rajasthan), Silchar (Assam), Pune (Maharashtra), Dimapur (Nagaland) and Mauhana (Punjab).

The company has trained a total of 2,77,997 drivers in the last five years, said a spokesperson at the company adding that the training period depends 36-37 days for a beginner course for heavy duty vehicle driver and as few as two-three days for a ‘Refresher course for Light Moving Vehicle driver’.

And, just like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland also trains 12,000 fresh drivers and 1,65,450 refresher drivers every year.

It has its institutes in Namakkal, Kaithal (Haryana), Burari (Delhi ), Chindwara (Madhya Pradesh), Chatia (Odisha), Railmagra (Rajasthan), Dharwad and Banglore, Vadodara, Sircilla (Telangana) and Nagpur.

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