After a successful run in 2013, the Maruti ‘Queen of the Road’ driving awareness initiative is back this year, in time for International Women’s Day. The idea behind it is to promote driving education among Indian women by offering discounted rates for women at Maruti Driving School (MDS) outlets across the country, and also conducting a Safe Woman Driver contest.
The contest, which is an evaluation of driving skill and safe driving practices, runs throughout the month of March 2014, and all women over the age of 18 can submit their entries and participate. Participants will have to go through three stages – an online test, a practical evaluation at a Maruti Driving School, and a zonal shortlisting test. At the end of the contest, four winners, one from each zone, will win the title of ‘Queen of the Road’, as well as a Rs 50,000 prize. The winners will be announced the following month.
But in addition to this contest, MDS is also offering heavily discounted rates for women on its driver training programmes for this month. For example, beginner drivers can take advantage of a 25 percent discount on the Learner’s Programme, while women who already know how to drive and would rather brush up on their skills can get a Rs 750 discount on the Advanced Training Programme.
Last year’s effort certainly seems to have been a success for the company. Maruti says that having women trainers and instructors at its MDS outlets, of which there are now over 300 across India, has made them a popular choice. The company also says that over 40 percent of learners at MDS are women, and that at the 2013 ‘Queen of the Road’ drive, 5,255 women signed up at MDS in just one month.