Operating a steering wheel with pedals and a gear lever is not enough to assure safety. This is the underlying message from Honda’s Institute of Driving Training & Research (IDTR) in Karnal, Haryana set up by its two-wheeler arm, HMSI (Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India).
The key to safer roads is way more than just knowing how to drive as a 20-year-old student at the institute pointed out. He told this writer that he had learnt to drive a four-wheeler from a friend but, to his shock, failed in the very first test at Honda IDTR. This was during his driving licence examination conducted on the automated driving test tracks (ADTT).
The young man then joined the institute and now reiterates that the training changed his perspective on how to drive properly. Students start training on simulators mimicking real life scenarios and learn more about the nitty-gritty of the vehicle.
The institute has rooms dedicated for imparting lessons on vehicle parts and their functioning. The 9.25-acre facility houses five classrooms with a maximum capacity of 200 students each. The idea is to make people understand how a vehicle functions and what it takes to fix it quickly.
The 20-year-old is enthusiastic enough now to get into two-wheeler training as well. A similar story comes from a woman in her mid-40s who needed to handle her husband’s transportation business since he was away often. Hailing from an agrarian background, she was familiar with heavy commercial vehicles but it was IDTR which helped her understand a lot more.
The woman was quite pleased with the training and is now determined to have her truck drivers, numbering over a 1,000, hone their skills here. From her point of view, this will not only help ensure safety of drivers and road users but also help optimise her truck fleet since the training programme includes understanding vehicles and using them well.
Vinay Dhingra, Senior Director, HR, Admin, IT and Corporate Affairs, HMSI, told Mobility Outlook that the overall objective at the institute was to work on people’s mindsets. The message is clear: proper training with academic knowledge will help people change their behaviour and, in turn, make roads safer.
Dhingra added that while 6,000 driving licence applicants have been registered till date at the ADTT, the passing rate has just been 55% for two-wheelers and 35% for four-wheelers. Only 4% of those who failed have shown interest in joining the IDTR for further lessons.
Of the seven courses offered at IDTR, most are for beginners. Interestingly, residents of Karnal with a driving licence have shown interest in improving their skills. HMSI is now planning to add courses for this category of people.
This will not only lead to safer roads but help HMSI have a sustainable business model at IDTR where it spent INR 34 crore in setting up the and an additional NR 15 lakh annually for operations. The company believes that the additional courses will draw nearly 10,000 students next year which is also welcome news from the viewpoint of business and help HMSI open its second IDTR at Gurugram.
Catching ‘Em Young
Training the young generation, who are future road users, is another way of ensuring safety. Keeping this in mind, HMSI has personnel from its Karnal Traffic Training Parks visit schools nearby to spread the word on safer roads and road rules. This, added Dhingra, has paved the way for a new two-wheeler customer base at HMSI.
The company also plans to invite one school every week to visit the IDTR facility and have youngsters focus on road safety and follow guidelines. In the process, these students also encourage their parents to drive a lot more safely.
Dhingra said HMSI is focusing on the four Es - education, enforcement, engineering and emergency Response - to halve road accidents by 2030, which is in line with the parent company’s goal of total elimination by 2050.
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