Now in its fourth year, the Maruti Suzuki Autocar Young Driver Contest 2012 grabbed a record 21,000 registrations from youngsters in the age group of 18-30 years. The registrations included 6,900, 6,100, 5,800 and 2,300 applicants from the North, South, West and East regions respectively.
The contest aims at inculcating safe driving habits amongst the youth via an online driving skill test followed by a theory and practical test at any one of the 110 Maruti Driving Schools located across India. The candidates were shortlisted from 65 cities, urban and rural.
Speaking on the occasion, Mayank Pareek, COO - sales and marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, said, “The impressive response this year shows that the level of awareness regarding road safety has risen remarkably amongst the youth. For over a decade now Maruti Suzuki has been working on road safety and safe driving through a number of nationwide initiatives and we strongly believe that the involvement of youth will act as a catalyst towards taking up safe driving habits, as they are the key drivers of any change. Apart from inculcating safe driving habits and creating awareness, the Young Driver Contest also makes driving an enjoyable experience for those behind the wheel.”
Two additional categories have been added this year, one exclusively for women and the other for corporates, to encourage their young employees to drive safely.
The winner of the contest will become a ‘Safety Ambassador’ to promote safe driving and will also be the recipient of a new Maruti Suzuki A-star.
The online registrations closed on June 8, 2012 with testing commencing from June 13.
Lenny D'sa
Saptarshi Mondal
Uday Singh
Viraaj Bhatnagar
