People blame the poor state of road safety in India on myriad factors. Some say that our road design is inherently unsafe, while others blame it on the lax enforcement of traffic laws and road discipline. Pedestrian accidents are often attributed to irresponsible jaywalking, whereas trees-in-cars are frequently accompanied by the explanation, “But there was a cow in the middle of the road!” A lot of these factors are indeed to blame. Over the last decade, 1.2 million Indians have died in road accidents, while another 5.3 million have been maimed. As things stand today, every hour sounds 16 death sentences for Indians on the road.
At Autocar India, however, we feel that all these road accidents boil down to just one principal factor – the driver. When things are distilled down to their very essence, driving consists of a human being controlling a nearly one-tonne collection of metal, plastic, rubber and combustible fluids moving at often-high speeds. Then, when things go wrong, it would not be unfair to blame either the driver or his vehicle. A good driver is capable of overcoming all accident-causing possibilities thrown at him by shoddily designed roads, rampant jaywalkers, poorly enforced traffic laws and stray cows.
Armed with the understanding that the driver is at the core of the road safety ecosystem, Autocar India set out to increase awareness about safe driving among the youth of India. The youth of today represents the next generation of drivers, and by extension, the level of safety on our roads for the next few decades.
Reaching out to thousands of youngsters all over the country, however, is no easy task. With a view of increasing outreach, Autocar India partnered with Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker. In addition to having more cars on Indian roads than any other brand, the carmaker also owns a vast network of driving centres, Maruti Driving Schools (MDS), which are instrumental in putting well-trained drivers on the road. The carmaker also shares Autocar India’s idea of road safety – in the words of RS Kalsi, executive director of Maruti Suzuki India Limited, “If we train [drivers] at a young age and they spread the word about safe driving, it will certainly have an impactful bearing on road safety.” This is the essence of the Autocar Young Drivers programme, an initiative to keep the number of road fatalities and mishaps in India to a bare minimum by spreading awareness among the nation’s youth.
