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Zubin Antalia is Maruti Suzuki-Autocar
Young Driver 2009
Maruti Suzuki turns towards young drivers to promote road safety |
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| New Delhi, March 7, 2009 |
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Zubin Antalia from
Mumbai has won the inaugural Maruti Suzuki-Autocar Young Driver contest,
beating 32 other competitors from across the country.
Maruti Suzuki-Autocar Young Driver 2009 is a nationwide search for
India's best young driving talent. This competition tested the
competitors' knowledge of traffic rules,
awareness of road safety along with their real-world driving skill. The
contest was open to all individuals, between the age of 18 and 30 years,
with a valid driving license.
The two-month long contest - held across 12 cities with over 4,000
participants - reflects Maruti Suzuki's efforts to mobilize young
drivers to create safe driving awareness.
The competition is a part of the company's National Road Safety Mission,
which was launched in December 2008 to impart driving training to at
least five lakh people in the next three years.
At the national finals of the Young Driver 2009 contest, held at the
Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR), Sarai Kale Khan,
today, thirty-three contestants showcased their driving skills on the
test tracks of the institute.
While giving away a brand new A-star as the grand prize, Maruti Suzuki
India (MSI) Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek said,
"India is the number one nation in
the world in road accident fatalities with over one lakh deaths every
year on our roads. Around 78% of these accidents happen due to the
drivers' fault. We suffer from low awareness on the need for
quality driving training and lack of modern infrastructure for the same.
Maruti Suzuki has been actively introducing world class driving
training and infrastructure across country through Maruti Driving
Schools and IDTRs. Young Driver Contest is one more step to create
awareness among the general public."
"We believe that the young people of this country hold the key in road
safety promotion. These are the same people, who are getting affluent
and buying their own cars.
That's why Maruti Suzuki has chosen the youth of India to be its brand
ambassador for this cause", he added.
Zubin Antalia was chosen to be Maruti Suzuki's ambassador for safe
driving and promoting road safety awareness.
Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor, Autocar India, sharing insights from the
national event said, "The general lack of awareness of traffic rules and
safety was evident from the online tests with just 13 out of the 4,000
drivers clocking a full score.
A huge majority of drivers, about 47%, scored between 50-74 marks and
22.4% scored less than 50 marks in the virtual phase of the contest. In
the simulator test, which focuses on road discipline amongst drivers, a
lot of veteran and expert drivers faced hiccups in controlling the
simulated car, driving within speed limit, honking when required and
other
good driving practices. Through this initiative, we want to encourage a
safe driving culture among the young drivers today."
The Young Driver 2009 contest was held in three phases. In the first
phase, competitors had to register for an online theory test on traffic
rules, awareness of road safety and knowledge of their cars.
Of the 4,031 contestants, who had participated at this stage, around
1,000 contestants were short-listed for second stage conducted at 16
Maruti Driving Schools across 12 cities and 2 IDTRs at Delhi.
However, the list was further whittled down to only 654 people. They
went through the next stage of theory and practical test on the driving
simulator.
The top 33 contestants among them were declared as qualified for the
final stage of the contest.
During this final stage of the evaluation which took place this morning
at the IDTR, Sarai Kale Khan, the contestants underwent an actual
driving test under the keen eye of Maruti Suzuki's driving
instructors and judges from Autocar India.
Contestants were evaluated on parameters such as smoothness, vehicle
control and presence of mind during emergency situations. |
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| Road Safety and Maruti Suzuki |
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Maruti Suzuki has already trained
around 450,000 persons in safe driving in the last few years. Through
the National
Road Safety Mission, the company plans to train an additional 500,000
people in safe driving in the next three
years across India. Of the 500,000 people to be trained, at least
100,000 will be people from the underprivileged
section of society, who are keen to take driving as a profession.
Maruti Suzuki contributes towards road safety through its Institute of
Driving Training and Research (IDTR) and
Maruti Driving School (MDS) initiatives.
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