8
India
Effective Driver
Training to Improve
Transportation
Ashutosh Atray
GENERAL INFORMATION
Implementing Institution:
ACE Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd.
Head:
Ashutosh Atray
Details of Institution:
Address: ACE Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt.
Ltd.
20-B, Arti CHS, Above ICICI Bank, Sector -2
Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400703, India
Tel.: (+91) 22 2782 2043, 2782 2475
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Website: www.acedefensivedriving.com
Implementation Period:
The initiative began in 1999 and is ongoing.
Costs:
$30,400, provided by personal contributions from
faculty members of ACE Driving and Road Safety
Education Pvt. Ltd. and raised by internal sources. Each
training programme costs $220 for approximately 30
drivers.
115
116 | VOLUME 20: SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES IN URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
S UMMARY
The Indian economy is booming and the transportation sector is expanding very fast.
It is estimated that 70 per cent of the goods transportation in India is carried by road.
With an estimated 20 million heavy, medium and light vehicles on the road, there is
a huge driver population. Driving a commercial vehicle in India is very difficult and
provides a meagre income for the drivers, most of whom either are illiterate or have
had only a primary education. They are able to reach home only once or twice a
month and spend most of their time on the road. They need to drive continuously in
extreme weather/rough conditions since most of the vehicles are not air-conditioned.
Poor vehicle condition also adversely affects their on-road performance. Owing to
such difficult conditions and the non-availability of a structured training/awareness
programme, most of the drivers tend to commit a number of mistakes on the road.
ACE Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd. has initiated defensive-driving
training programmes in India. The programmes are aimed at educating the illiterate
drivers about the growing benefits of defensive driving for oneself, society and the
overall transportation system in general.
The programmes are classroom sessions/open-air discussions with commercial
drivers who drive more than 10 to 12 hours daily. They are meant to educate the illiterate drivers about the finer aspects of defensive driving. Topics such as drinking
and driving, tiredness and fatigue, following the traffic rules, AIDS awareness, and
the attitude of a safe driver such as patience, confidence, anticipation and concentration while driving are explained in great detail. In addition, separate programmes are
conducted for drivers of heavy vehicles carrying hazardous goods such as petroleum
products. Some of the key points of such driver training are as follows. The programme:
• is aimed specifically at drivers of heavy and medium vehicles;
• is conducted in the local dialect for easy and convenient understanding of the topics;
• is supported by films and one-on-one discussions on the subject;
• is created so as to ensure maximum participation of every driver;
• includes some of the key benefits such as reducing fuel consumption and controlling the pollution on the road; and
• highlights the specific driving concerns and mistakes committed by the drivers.
The following benefits have been observed from such defensive-driving training
programmes:
• reduction in road crashes and fatalities;
India Effective Driver Training to Improve Transportation | 117
• discouragement of aggressive driving symptoms;
• systematic driving, which reduces the pollution and traffic congestion, thereby improving overall transportation on the road;
• exposure of the effects of drinking and driving;
• improvement in fuel consumption and reduction in air pollution due to better
driving habits;
• holistic improvement in the driving attitude;
• patience and a conservative approach while driving regularly for long stretches; and
• highlighting of the hazards of fatigue, tiredness and speeding, which account
for more than 43 per cent of accidents in India.
ACE Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd. has conducted more than 3,420
defensive-driving programmes to date in India and abroad for commercial drivers and
it has trained approximately 810,000 drivers in defensive-driving techniques. It has
been observed that such programmes have a major impact on overall traffic standards,
and in 2007, the authorities of the Transport Department realized their potential and
importance and are setting up the process to conduct similar training programmes for
commercial drivers.
B ACKGROUND
A N D J U S T I F I C AT I O N
Situation before the Innovative Experience
In India, commercial driving is considered to be a very petty job. The pay
scales and tough job conditions make
this job very difficult. In India and most
of the neighbouring countries, commercial drivers come from very poor and
difficult backgrounds. If someone cannot
do anything in life, that person becomes
a commercial driver. Life is very hard
for the commercial drivers since they
need to be on the road for almost 25
days a month to earn their livelihood,
thus adversely affecting their family life.
They need to adapt to the changing
environment (which includes changes
in weather and food habits) regularly.
In addition to the difficult background,
most of the drivers are illiterate since
most of them do not have the inclination to study or simply refuse to study
further. Also, the process of granting a
commercial driving licence to a driver
is not very well established/followed by
the Transport Department. Owing to
bureaucratic leniency, in many cases the
licences are issued to a driver without
his having complete driving knowledge.
These uneducated drivers do not understand the basic driving rules and do
not follow them, resulting in rash and
negligent driving causing irreparable
loss. These drivers also need to come to
the office of the Transport Department
118 | VOLUME 20: SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES IN URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
every three years for the renewal of their
commercial driving licence. However,
owing to a lack of any facilities for interaction/training, they have their licence
renewed without any validation of specific knowledge and/or updating of their
driving skills.
The most important impact of the
training and awareness programmes on the
drivers came when they started realizing
the importance of quality driving. Driving
in lane, parking at the correct place, taking
precautions while reversing, following correct road rules, wearing the seat belts and
keeping a safe following distance are some
of the factors that have made a positive
impact on them and that have started contributing to better traffic management and
transportation.
Effective driving skills, the importance of defensive driving, fuel-saving
tips, and driver management and attitude (which includes emotional and
stress management) have become the
need of the hour for road safety and
overall improvement in transportation.
Conscientious driving, awareness and
responsibility can be achieved through
adequate knowledge, practical experience and regular monitoring, a task that
must be undertaken by authorities and
trainers in India.
Justification and Context of the Innovative Experience
ACE realized the concern about the
lack of awareness of road safety as well
as about drivers not following rules and
regulations and started working towards
driver training. The training is conducted to make the drivers aware of the road
rules and hazards of driving for long
periods (fatigue and tiredness issues),
to develop the right attitude on the
road and to forewarn the drivers about
possible road hazards if they drive recklessly. It has been observed that there is
a marked improvement in such trained
drivers, who try to follow many of the
rules explained during the training, thus
reducing the probability of road crashes
and fatalities. The objective of explaining the road rules and their benefit for
themselves and other road users has
thus had a positive influence on traffic
conditions and transportation, contributing to their improvement.
Main Issues Involved
The main issues involved in such a driver-training exercise are mobilizing the
drivers and explaining the hazards to
them. Some of the more specific major
issues involved are described below.
Issues Relating to Authorities/Policies
• Numbers of applicants: There are
more than 580 Regional Transport
Offices spread all over India that
issue licences (new and renewed) to
approximately 72,000 persons every
day, and the sheer numbers are such
that the authorities have not been
able to initiate any steps to evaluate
driving techniques or handle training
or driver education.
• Poor infrastructure: The overall infrastructure in terms of road layout,
India Effective Driver Training to Improve Transportation | 119
road maintenance, traffic-bearing
capacity, etc., is inadequate.
the authorities simply cannot manage the training facility.
• Heterogeneous traffic: There is no
limitation on the type, speed and
dimensions of a vehicle occupying
the road. With a broad spectrum
of such diverse vehicles, the traffic
becomes adversely affected.
• Unemployed youth: Many unemployed youth take up driving as
the easiest way to earn a living.
• Dated rules and penalties: The penalty for violating a rule such as jumping a signal or parking at a wrong
place is as low as $1.90 (₹s100/-),
which is no longer a deterrent for
the driver.
•A limited number of traffic personnel deputed for the duty: In almost
all cases, there is no traffic person
available from 9 p.m. until 8 a.m.,
when traffic moves unregulated.
• Corruption at the lower level: Mistakes committed by the drivers are
often overlooked after acceptance
of a bribe ($0.50-$1).
• Complicated and State-specific
documentation/formalities: For a
vehicle to move across the country,
the authorities often catch a vehicle for improper documentation,
thus affecting the whole schedule.
A driver tends to speed/commit
more mistakes often to make up
the lost time/schedule.
• Cost: The cost involved in conducting such training, which requires personalized interaction, is
steep and commercial drivers who
earn only $200 a month cannot afford to participate in the training.
• Numbers of drivers: Since the
numbers of drivers are very high,
PersonaI Issues of Drivers
Personal issues of drivers include:
• reluctance to follow road/traffic rules
due to ignorance or sheer lethargy.
It is estimated that only one out
of 30 offenders subscribing to the
incorrect road/motor vehicle rules
is caught and punished. At times,
owing to very high numbers of violators, authorities may overlook the
mistakes. Also, limited numbers of
traffic/police authorities may make
it impossible to catch all the traffic
offenders;
• a general perception of people committing mistakes while driving but
not being caught or punished;
• unwillingness of some drivers to
participate in the programme since
there is no incentive for them to do
so. Recently, the Transport Department has undertaken an initiative to
reward the drivers for participating
in such training programmes by paying for their food as well as paying
them $3; and
• the drivers are illiterate and hence
are not willing to attend such training programmes, where their skills
are likely to be tested.
120 | VOLUME 20: SUCCESSFULPRACTICES IN URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
DESCRIPTION
After realizing the importance and magnitude of conducting the training programmes and educating the drivers on
road safety, the representatives of ACE
Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt.
Ltd. met the National Safety Council of
India and offered to work with it on this
task. Simultaneously, it also started gathering information, including details of similar programmes being conducted all over
the world, especially in the developed
countries, to educate and train the drivers.
Unfortunately, most of the countries have
right-side/left-hand driving, which ruled
out use of much of the published material.
Looking to the accident patterns and
data on road crashes and fatalities, ACE
had prepared a first-cut defensive-driving
programme in 1999 and had started the
road-safety awareness and defensive-driving programmes at the premises of a few
corporate entities. These programmes
were developed on transparencies and
required an overhead projector for the
presentation. ACE then began the programmes on a very small scale for select
corporations that were very safety conscious. After spreading the awareness to
multinational corporations (fig. 1) and
other safety-conscious companies that
realized their importance and relevance
in the Indian driving context, such as BP,
Shell, Castrol, Pennzoil and Lubrizol,
these companies initiated such training
programmes for their fleet drivers. As
the operations began to improve (higher
efficiency, fewer accidents), more and more
companies asked ACE to conduct such
programmes for them. Soon the operations
were spread all over India and ACE was invited to conduct programmes on road-safety
awareness.
Steps Taken in the Innovation and
Implementation Process
ACE initiated steps such as developing
a driver training programme keeping in
mind the needs and requirements of an
Indian driver of a commercial heavy/
medium vehicle. It then customized the
content in the following ways:
• The programme was developed in
the local language, Hindi, so that
the majority of the drivers could
understand the language. Later,
it was also developed in other regional languages.
Figure 1. Training programme on road safety
for commercial drivers of a large multinational
corporation.
• The programme was supported by
specific films created to facilitate
the training. The films, first created in the local Hindi language,
were later dubbed in various other
regional languages.
India Effective Driver Training to Improve Transportation | 121
Figure 2. Measurement of road width
and evaluation of ease of movement of
heavy vehicles on the grounds of a plant
as part of a road safety survey to help to
identify reasons for road accidents for
various plants.
• Ace developed the charts, road
signs and other handouts in Hindi
for better understanding by the participants.
• Whenever possible, ACE conducted
basic medical tests of the drivers so
that any health problem could be detected in a timely manner. If the driver had serious health concerns, ACE
advised the driver not to drive further.
• In many cases, the programme was
supported by local statistics and
recent crash details to make the audience realize the importance for the
subject (fig. 2).
ACE also developed e-learning
modules to educate the drivers in an organization. The e-learning modules were
based on macro learning techniques for
the specific subject. A test was conducted to evaluate the knowledge gained and
acceptance of the content.
Technical Data
Road safety is a major concern in India,
where the number of deaths in road crashes
is very high (tables 1 and 2). As per data
published by the Ministry of Surface Transport and Highways, by 2005, approximately
95,000 people were dying in road crashes
every year and another 465,000 people were
seriously injured owing to such crashes. This
number grew to 161,210 fatalities and over
544,000 grievous injuries in 2010.
Results Obtained
The programmes have created a good level of awareness among the drivers about
correct driving practices and precautions
that they need to take while driving. Points
such as road signs, road markings, other
road rules such as safe following distance,
Mirror – Signal – Mirror, and other safety
rules are explained to them in detail.
The drivers claimed that they realized the number of mistakes that they had
been committing earlier. The awareness
about fatigue and tiredness was a landmark in the efforts of ACE, and many
companies made a rule not to drive on the
road after 10 p.m. to avoid such crashes.
122 | VOLUME 20: SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES IN URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Table 1. Comparison of accidents with the number of vehicles in India.
Year
Total no. of regis- No. of accidents
Total no. of perTotal no. of road sons killed in road tered motor vehi- per 10,000 vehiaccidents
cles (in thousands)
accidents
cles
1970
1980
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
114,100
153,200
282,600
295,131
275,541
284,646
325,864
351,999
371,204
373,671
385,018
386,456
391,449
405,637
407,497
406,726
429,910
440,677
486,306
496,564
506,248
539,655
557,964
14,500
24,000
54,100
56,278
60,113
60,380
64,463
70,781
74,665
76,977
79,919
81,966
78,911
80,888
84,674
85,998
92,618
94,968
97,248
107,976
117,671
129,438
142,382
1,401.00
4,521.00
19,152.00
21,374.00
23,507.00
25,505.00
27,660.00
30,295.00
33,786.00
37,332.00
41,368.00
44,875.00
48,857.00
54,991.00
58,924.00
67,007.00
72,718.00
81,444.16
92,846.34
104,916.40
112,260.50
130,222.20
141,942.20
814.42
338.86
147.56
138.08
117.22
111.60
117.81
116.19
109.87
100.09
93.07
86.12
80.12
73.76
69.16
60.70
59.12
54.10
52.40
47.30
45.10
41.40
39.30
Table 2. Number of persons killed and injured by motor vehicles in India, by State and Union
Territory, 2001-2010.
Persons killed
State/Union
Territory 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008
2009
2010
12,448
13,319
13,985
State
Andhra
Pradesh
Arunachal
Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
8,428 7,517
71
9,679 10,552 10,534 11,080 11,634
102
127
166
87
174
192
224
262
299
1,021 1,023
1,043 1,957
1,122
2,368
1,288
1,791
1,544
1,588
1,352
1,881
1,488
2,069
1,741
2,420
2,036
2,832
2,322
3,228
Chhattisgarh
1,095 1,620
1,881
2,060
2,258
2,163
2,379
2,784
3,257
3,713
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
234
260
4,502 5,094
2,911 2,987
235
5,161
3,028
306
5,423
3,417
242
5,642
3,379
321
5,694
3,588
353
6,264
3,947
414
7,328
4,618
484
8,574
5,403
552
9,775
6,159
India Effective Driver Training to Improve Transportation | 123
Table 2 (continued).
Persons killed
State/Union
Territory 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008
2009
2010
State
Himachal
Pradesh
Jammu &
Kashmir
756
802
733
836
812
878
966
1,130
1,322
1,507
770
872
836
958
884
1,006
1,106
1,295
1,515
1,727
Jharkhand
1,686 1,746
1,699
1,869
1,919
1,962
2,159
2,526
2,955
3,369
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya
Pradesh
5,805 6,366
2,674 2,792
6,195
2,905
6,496
3,059
6,904
3,161
6,821
3,212
7,503
3,533
8,778
4,134
10,271
4,837
11,709
5,514
3,865 4,141
4,523
4,703
5,327
4,938
5,432
6,355
7,436
8,477
Maharashtra
9,769 9,523
9,483
9,875 10,259 10,369 11,406
13,345
15,613
17,799
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttaranchal
Uttar
Pradesh
West Bengal
89
174
65
53
1,933
2,690
5,187
50
9,571
175
704
120
104
50
44
2,220
2,638
5,535
55
9,939
157
705
127
168
76
46
2,293
2,655
6,025
40
9,275
168
756
115
135
59
60
2,454
2,580
6,477
51
9,507
181
931
137
126
59
52
2,549
2,793
6,793
77
9,758
209
868
121
133
142
156
62
68
63
69
2,577 2,834
2,709 2,980
6,801 7,481
54
59
9,982 10,981
190
209
978 1,075
155
182
80
81
3,316
3,486
8,753
69
12,847
245
1,258
182
213
93
95
3,880
4,079
10,241
81
15,031
286
1,472
207
243
106
108
4,423
4,650
11,674
92
17,136
326
1,678
9,654 9,726
7,845
9,946
9,955 10,443 11,488
13,441
15,725
17,927
3,712 4,510
4,361
4,994
4,727
6,749
7,896
9,001
A&N Islands
17
21
12
15
23
16
17
20
Chandigarh
118
110
134
149
135
156
172
201
Dadra & Na40
32
34
54
55
57
62
73
gar Haveli
Daman & Diu
13
18
19
24
24
25
28
32
Delhi
1,842 1,696 1,801 1,907 1,862 2,002 2,102
2,250
Lakshad1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
weep
Pondicherry
170
192
188
180
226
189
208
243
TOTAL
(States and
80,888 84,674 85,998 92,618 94,968 97,250 106,321 123,021
Union Territories)
24
236
27
269
85
97
38
2,407
43
2,744
0
0
285
324
142,465
161,210
5,244
5,768
Union Territory
124 | VOLUME 20: SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES IN URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Table 2 (continued).
State/Union
Territory 2001
Persons injured
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
State
Andhra
Pradesh
Arunachal
Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal
Pradesh
Jammu &
Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya
Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttaranchal
Uttar
Pradesh
West Bengal
37,471 22,112 47,477 50,895 46,613 47,545 48,972 49,951 52,948
381
312
374
419
330
337
347
354
54,537
375
386
3,744 3,843 4,361 4,313 5,540 5,651 5,820 5,937 6,293
1,465 3,882 4,227 2,664 2,559 2,610 2,688 2,742 2,907
8,009 7,461 8,732 9,897 10,378 10,586 10,903 11,121 11,788
2,164 2,633 2,626 2,730 2,714 2,768 2,851 2,908 3,083
32,508 34,415 33,680 34,436 34,901 35,599 36,667 37,400 39,644
8,289 8,321 8,287 8,643 8,773 8,948 9,217 9,401 9,965
6,482
2,994
12,142
3,175
40,834
10,264
4,029
4,009
4,358
4,975
4,507
4,597
4,735
4,830
5,120
5,273
6,010
7,186
8,056
8,889
8,315
8,481
8,736
8,910
9,445
9,728
3,578 4,201 4,106 4,293 3,520 3,590 3,698 3,772 3,998
42,196 45,769 45,781 50,395 54,061 55,142 56,796 57,932 61,408
49,675 49,460 48,640 51,228 51,217 52,241 53,809 54,885 58,178
4,118
63,251
59,923
27,401 29,780 33,375 37,250 39,719 40,513 41,729 42,563 45,117
46,471
49,340 48,377 46,692 47,394
846
914
988 1,090
349
303
523
362
38
184
112
131
184
76
123
140
8,314 9,678 8,838 9,498
3,390 3,932 4,077 4,218
25,994 27,119 29,079 31,345
221
321
279
278
52,922 55,130 55,242 57,283
949
708
927 1,160
1,148 1,255 1,692 1,870
46,388
1,516
617
144
349
11,541
4,692
34,061
495
70,433
1,212
2,091
47,780
1,562
635
149
359
11,887
4,833
35,083
510
72,546
1,248
2,154
9,348 13,188 12,883 13,141 13,535 13,806 14,634
15,073
10,625 13,800 12,769 14,877 15,111 15,413 15,876 16,193 17,165
17,680
13,256 13,152
40,838
1,335
543
127
307
10,160
4,131
29,986
436
62,006
1,067
1,841
41,655
1,362
554
130
313
10,363
4,214
30,586
445
63,246
1,088
1,878
42,904
1,403
570
133
323
10,674
4,340
31,503
458
65,144
1,121
1,934
43,762
1,431
582
136
329
10,888
4,427
32,133
467
66,446
1,143
1,973
Union Territory
A&N Islands
Chandigarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
230
495
243
469
252
437
307
350
329
553
336
564
346
581
353
593
374
628
385
647
117
99
65
133
115
117
121
123
131
135
42
61
74
70
72
73
76
77
82
84
India Effective Driver Training to Improve Transportation | 125
Table 2 (continued).
State/Union
Territory 2001
Persons injured
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Union
Territory
Delhi
Lakshadweep
Pondicherry
8,449
7,929
7,829
8,072
8,447
8,616
8,874
9,052
9,595
9,883
6
6
1
3
5
5
5
5
6
6
1,381
1,571
1,695
1,725
1,843
1,880
1,936
1,975
2,093
2,156
TOTAL
(States and
405,216 408,711 435,122 464,521 465,282 474,587 488,825 498,600 528,516 544,373
Union Territories)
Publications and Other Papers Relating
to Project Results
A number of articles on road safety were
circulated to create road-safety awareness.
Some of the Government departments and
agencies also asked ACE to provide them
with the support to conduct these activities on a regular basis, including booklets,
road-sign charts and other printed materials. ACE also participated in seminars and
workshops on the subject conducted by
the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers and the National Safety Council
of India, among others.
PARTNERSHIPS
Public, Community and Private-sector
Involvement
The training and road-safety-awareness
programmes were the brainchild of Mr.
P. N. Helekar, who himself is an expert
on road-safety awareness and has been
trained on the subject at the National
Safety Council in the United States.
Mr. Helekar started driver-training and
road-safety awareness programmes on
a small scale in 1996 after retiring from
working for Air India at the age of 60.
Soon thereafter, however, owing to his
age and health limitations, he created a
team of like-minded road-safety experts
to take this cause further. One of the
members of that team was Ashutosh
Atray, who founded ACE Driving and
Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd. in 2005
with the sole aim of training and educating drivers in safe driving.
Other Regional and International
Collaborators
Recently, after realizing the importance
of such training in India, the Institute of
Advanced Motorists (IAM Fleet) in the
United Kingdom has shown interest in
the activity of ACE and invited ACE to
the United Kingdom to share the training
material and promote the activity. However, the ACE Driving and Road Safety
Education Pvt. Ltd. arrangement with
IAM is purely for technical support, IAM
having no financial involvement in ACE.
126 | VOLUME 20: SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES IN URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
REPLICABILITY
• optimization of vehicle efficiency
and overall driving standards;
Relevance of the Innovative Experience to Other Regions
• reduction in fuel consumption due
to better-regulated traffic, better
maintenance of the vehicle and
more cautious driving;
The driver-training module is a very important tool for educating illiterate drivers
and spreading awareness of road-safety
precautions. As the overall status of commercial drivers in terms of earning a living and overall livelihood is the same all
over the country, it is thought that these
programmes are very important to create
road-safety awareness and bring about
progressive change in their lives and in
the overall transportation system.
The programme also highlights other factors such as road rules and stresses
factors such as a positive driving attitude
(which includes patience, confidence, anticipation and concentration on the road).
ACE believes that if the programme is
presented in the form of a short film/presentation to all the commercial drivers who
seek a new/renewed licence at a Regional
Transport Office, it can make a huge difference to all the drivers and to road safety.
P O L I C Y I M P L I C AT I O N S
Such an awareness of road safety will
also have a positive impact on the overall
transportation system in the city/country
and result in the following benefits:
• better, more cohesive and regulated traffic;
• better implementation of road
rules and safety precautions;
• reduction in vehicle emissions;
• reduction in road crashes and fatalities; and
• peace of mind.
Changes in Legislation Due to the
Innovative Experience
ACE has indicated to the Transport Department of various States that the V-Link
taxi company is willing to participate in
and conduct (along with ACE) road-safety awareness and safe-driving programmes
for all the applicants for a driving licence
for operating a taxi. However, there is no
legislation that forces these applicants to
undergo such training/awareness-raising.
Also, the cost implications for having such
a programme on a regular basis were major deterrents.
ACE has also proposed that every
commercial driver must do the following before being granted a new/renewed
licence:
• have a medical examination;
• pass the test on knowledge of road
rules (theoretical assessment); and
• pass the individual driving assessment (practical assessment).
Though some of the points are
discreetly covered but not actually
followed currently, ACE has proposed
India Effective Driver Training to Improve Transportation | 127
such changes in the legislation and expects that transport/local authorities will
realize the importance of such work and
initiate steps to modify the legislation.
I M PAC T
Qualitative and/or Quantitative Impact of the Experience after Implementation
The qualitative impact of the training
programmes is very positive. Many
drivers who were never aware of such
aspects have accepted that they were in
fact driving dangerously and committing
many mistakes on the road. Their driving
has improved, which must have had a
positive impact on overall transportation
and traffic. Though it cannot be proved,
road crashes also have been reduced
considerably and trained drivers seem to
show a positive attitude and confidence.
S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
The driver training programme is sustainable and can be replicated at all the
Regional Transport Offices where the
licences are issued/renewed. Response
to the widespread need for this driver
education and road-safety awareness will
most certainly improve transportation
as the attitude of patience, confidence
and responsibility while on the road will
be inculcated in the driver, who will be
well equipped with technical skills and
be better able to handle adverse driving
conditions.
Special Circumstances That Made the
Experience Successful
Road crashes were on the rise and many
organizations as well as individuals felt
that it was necessary to create greater
awareness of such a vital subject as road
safety among the commercial drivers
who normally contribute the most to
such accidents. Other factors included:
• a change in the traffic scenario and
conditions, such as improvement
of roads in the country, thereby increasing the speed of the vehicles;
• a short cut in the process adopted
while issuing/renewing the driving
licence;
• the need to arrest the trend of the
rise in road crashes and the cascading effect on the population, traffic
in general and the affected persons
in particular;
• the need for training/road-safety
awareness programmes aimed at the
drivers; and
• improvement in technology and introduction of upgraded and updated
training modules/presentations.
LESSONS LEARNED
Obstacles Faced and Steps Taken to
Overcome Them
Obstacles faced include:
• reluctance in following road/traffic rules due to ignorance or sheer
lethargy. It is estimated that one out
128 | VOLUME 20: SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES IN URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
of 30 offenders subscribing to the
incorrect road/motor vehicle rules
is caught and punished. Given the
limited number of traffic control
officers compared to the number
of drivers driving and violating the
law, such a scenario is not surprising;
• unwillingness of the drivers to participate in the programme since
there is no incentive for them to
do so. Recently, the Transport Department has taken the initiative to
reward the drivers for participating
in such training programmes by
paying them $3 as well as paying
for their food;
• drivers who are illiterate and hence
are not willing to attend such training programmes where their skills
are likely to be tested;
• a very high number of drivers, resulting in the inability of the Transport Department to manage the
training facility;
• more than 580 Regional Transport
Offices spread all over India that
issue licences (new and renewed) to
approximately 72,000 persons every
day, the sheer number being such
that the authorities have not initiated any steps to handle training or
driver education; and
• unaffordable participation fees due
to the steep cost of conducting
such training (manual training is
required), which stop drivers from
attending the training programme.
Preparing Public Perception for Accepting the Innovation
Many of the responsible organizations
and individuals have realized the importance of driver education and road-safety
awareness training and have now made
it mandatory for their team/employees.
One of the Regional Transport Offices
has also realized its importance and has
accepted the proposal to organize such
education and awareness programmes
for all the licence applicants on their
premises. The proposed programme will
be a shorter version and will be communicated through audiovisual aids/films.
The programme will be developed in the
local language for wider acceptability.
FUTURE PLANS
Future Improvement and Expansion
of the Project
ACE Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd. is planning to improve the
overall driver-training and road-safety
awareness activity by initiating the following steps:
• create a training module that is for
all the applicants;
• develop e-learning training modules that can be web-friendly and
market the training through CDs
and the Internet;
• plan some short films on training.
These films in local dialect will be
created keeping the local conditions, vehicles and road conditions
India Effective Driver Training to Improve Transportation | 129
in mind to generate greater acceptability of the subject;
• hire more professionals at ACE
Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd. (maybe two to three
trainers in each State) to conduct
more such programmes as requested by the corporate sector as well
as by State governments;
• launch the training sessions in
select Regional Transport Offices
initially. After the road-safety education and awareness programmes
are fully accepted by the authorities/participants, introduce them
as a mandatory exercise for all the
participants;
• accept support from other Government bodies, social organizations,
NGOs and other like-minded
bodies to support the training and
education of the underprivileged
drivers and licence seekers who
are violating traffic rules and regulations but cannot afford such a
training programme;
• introduce the training at the junior school and college levels since
youngsters also contribute largely
to road crashes owing to rash driving and poor driving knowledge;
• have films created that can be shown
on television and other media to create
the required road-safety awareness;
• initiate discussions with media
for strong support through print
and TV channels to highlight the
road-safety initiatives; and
• approach other countries such as
Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pa-
kistan and Sri Lanka for similar
activities in association with transport departments or NGOs of the
country.
Collaboration and Sharing of the
Results with Other Organizations/
Countries
ACE Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd. has already shared the information/activities with leading driving
schools in other countries. It has had
initial talks with driving schools such
as the Singapore Safety Driving School
and the Institute of Advanced Motorists
in the United Kingdom on sharing the
data and details. It is willing to lend support to create such road-safety awareness among all the developing countries
provided that a suitable platform and
support are available.
The most significant impact on the
drivers came when they started realizing
the importance of quality driving. Driving in the correct lane, parking correctly, taking precautions while reversing,
following correct road rules, wearing
the seat belts and keeping a safe following distance are some of the factors that
have made a positive impact on them
and that, ACE believes, has started contributing to better traffic management
and transportation.
To date, ACE has conducted more
than 1,600 road-safety education and
awareness programmes for drivers of
different vehicles and has promoted
road-safety awareness to approximately
3,000 participants. Since its inception,
130 | VOLUME 20: SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES IN URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
the programme has been conducted all
over India in corporations and institutions.
A number of corporations and individuals have realized the importance of
the subject and have now made it mandatory for their team/employees to undergo
such training. Regional Transport Offices
have also realized the importance of
organizing such road-safety awareness
programmes for all the licence applicants
on their premises. ACE plans to develop
a shorter, customized programme for
the Transport Department of India that
will be communicated through audiovisual aids and films. The programme will
be developed in the local language for
wider acceptability.
C ase S tudy P repared
by:
Ashutosh Atray
Address: Ace Driving and Road Safety Education Pvt. Ltd.
20-B, Arti CHS, Above ICICI Bank
Sector -2, Vashi, Navi Mumbai 400703
India
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
I ndividuals I nvolved in
I nnovative E xperience:
the
Mr. P. N. Helekar and Mr. Ashutosh Atray