-Covered over 5000 Airport taxi drivers till date
Bengaluru, 31 January 2017: Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), in line with its deep rooted safety mission -‘Safest Car, Safest Driver’ today inaugurated the 3rd edition of the “Driver Training Program” and “Health Check-up Camp” for airport taxi drivers at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB) from January 31-Febuary 02, 2017. Successfully organized with the whole-hearted support from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) operator of KIAB, Sakra Hospitals and Sankara Eye Hospital the event aimed at engaging and educating airport taxi drivers about traffic safety challenges and the critical importance of making Indian roads safer with a more responsible and sensible safety behavior.
Inaugurated by eminent dignitaries like Mr Mahesh Kumar, Inspector Bangalore Traffic Police, Mr. Venkatraman HR, AVP Commercial, BIAL the event also witnessed the presence of senior management from Toyota Kirloskar Motor including Mr. Shekar Viswanathan, Vice Chairman & Whole-Time Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Mr. Naveen Soni, Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor aims to sensitize drivers on basic awareness on road use behavior, basic defensive training, awareness session on traffic control devices and related legislation and their role to keeping roads safe. The integrated initiative also offered a “Health& Eye Check-up Camp” that focused on thewell-being of taxi drivers who offer their services, day and night. The free check-up camp offered tests like BMI, Blood Sugar, ECG, LFT, BP and eye screening with issuance of free spectacles, blood grouping and physician consultant.
The statistics released by the National Highway Authorities state that 44,011 accidents occurred on Karnataka state highways in 2015. In 2014, a total of 43,713 accidents occurred and 44,020 in 2013. The number of people killed in road accidents in 2015 have increased compared to previous years. A total of 10,856 people in 2015 died in road accidents and 10,452 in 2014 and 10,046 in 2013.The total number of people injured in road accidents on state highways has increased in 2015 compared to that of previous years. Recent studies have reported that there is a link between visual defects of drivers and road accidents. Majority of commercial drivers fail the minimum vision requirements of driving.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Bhaskar Bodapati, Sr. Director, Finance & Support Services, BIAL said “We are delighted to partner with Toyota Kirloskar Motor in this initiative to enhance road safety in the city. Last year, over 1200 drivers participated in this three-day training program and the health & eye check-up camp. We believe that such initiatives will help sensitize drivers on their role in ensuring road safety. Additionally it would also encourage them to give importance to their physical well-being. We are happy that Toyota Kirloskar Motor has undertaken this initiative to inculcate the right safety sense amongst our taxi drivers.”
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. ShekarViswanathan, Vice Chairman & Whole-Time Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “As safety crusaders in the automobile industry, we feel it is our responsibility to ensure the safest cars with the safest drivers. We sincerely acknowledge the dedicated support from GVK, Sakra World Hospital & Sankara Eye Hospital, in our successful endeavor in undertaking this initiative. We have been consistently conducting “Driver Training Programs” and “Health Check-up Camps” to educate taxi drivers on the importance of responsible road safety habits and the importance of their physical wellbeing. Taxis are an integral part of public transport system carrying millions of passengers every year. With this initiative we aim to educate the taxi drivers on improving their driving behavior and fostering a safe driving culture in the city. We believe with this initiative we will be able to effectively contribute towards reducing road accidents in Delhi.”
TKM has been conducting similar Driver Training Programs & Health Check Up camp for Airport taxi drivers in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Delhi International Airport since 2014 as part of the CSR Initiatives on road safety awareness with over 5000 drivers participating in the campaign till date. More than 900 drivers were diagnosed with vision problems during these health checkups and provided free spectacles by TKM.
In pursuance of its deep rooted safety mission, Toyota Kirloskar Motor has been consistently engaged in Road Safety initiatives since 2005 through various pan India campaigns. The all encompassed safety initiatives under CSR include campaigns targets even the children to start the awareness at an early age. The company has engaged with over 6.5 lakh students across India through its “Toyota Safety Education Programme” which aims at educating school children and teachers on road safety etiquettes
In the area of traffic safety, Toyota is addressing traffic safety through integration of people, cars, and the traffic environment with the aim of completely eliminating traffic casualties.
Launched in line with the company’s vision of “Safest car with safest driver”, TKM has launched Toyota Driving School across India in cities like Kochi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai. With the launch of Toyota Driving School across India, the company aims to bring down the rising number of road accidents caused majorly due to human error. The training module will integrate technical expertise along with enhancing behavioral skills to create awareness about safety nationwide
Safest Cars: Etios was first in its segment to standardize Air bags in driver and passenger side. The company went set a safety benchmark with “The New Platinum Etios”, being in the first in the industry to standardize Anti-Lock Braking System with Electronic Brake-force Distribution across all Toyota models & in all grades. Additionally, there are also new dual ISOFIX child seat locks for all models & all grades, added to ensure safety of children. Testament to its position as one of the segment leaders in terms of passenger safety, the Etios was presented with the coveted 4 Stars in Global NCAP Crash Test adult occupant safety for the year 2016.
