Maruti Suzuki spreads its road safety awareness drive to Gurgaon schools

Maruti Suzuki India has launched an initiative for primary school students in the age group of 7 to 10 years for creating awareness about road safety and educate them on traffic rules and safety.

The initiative, termed as ‘Gatimaan Ki Paathshala’ will cover 125 schools in Gurgaon in association with the Gurgaon Police and will benefit over 50,000 students. The inauguration was held at Manav Rachna International School Sector 51, Gurgaon, in the presence of V Puran Kumar, IPS, Joint Commissioner (Traffic), Gurgaon Police.

The objective of the program is to educate the importance of road safety amongst school children in a fun way. Sessions include a mix of classroom and play activities making it interactive and interesting. The educational activities include Gatimaan, a superhero character, to explain to the children on how to be safe on roads through an interactive AV, followed by sessions on Dos and Don’ts for road usage and safety.

To make the learning more effective, Maruti Suzuki has introduced a module of a road track with props like traffic signals, battery operated kids car, bicycle, etc. Students play the role of a driver, cyclist, traffic signal, pedestrian, etc, and demonstrate the benefits of following traffic rules.

Explaining the special drive, Mahesh Rajoria, assistant vice president, Maruti Driving Schools, Maruti Suzuki India said, “Gatimaan ki Paathshala strengths our road safety initiative. Teaching children at this young age helps inculcate responsible road habits at an early stage. By educating these children, we are able to drive the message of road safety and significance of traffic rules amongst their friends and family members as well.”

As a part of its road safety program, Maruti Suzuki currently manages six IDTRs including two in NCR and one each in Dehradun, Vadodara, Rohtak and Bahadurgarh, in partnership with state governments. These institutes offer learner and refresher courses, including to commercial vehicle drivers.

The carmaker also collaborates with its dealers who manage and run over 360 Maruti Driving Schools (MDS) across the country. Earlier this month, the cumulative enrollment at its various driving training facilities has touched a record 3 million. The enrolments include new and existing drivers, for private as well as commercial vehicles.