Toyota Kirloskar conducts driver training and health check-up programs in Hyderabad

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), in line with its safety mission ‘Safest Car, Safest Driver’ yesterday inaugurated a two day ‘Driver Training Program’ and ‘Health Check-up Camp’ for airport taxi drivers at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad.

The initiative was undertaken with the objective to engage and educate airport taxi drivers on the traffic safety challenges and the importance of making Indian roads safer. The event was supported by Apollo Hospital and Essilor Foundation to offer free health and eye checkup for airport taxi drivers.

Inaugurated by K Prasad, ACP-Traffic; the event also had the presence of Ramkumar, CEO, Radha Krishna Toyota; YB Swamy, senior GM, Harsha Toyota and Rajendre Hegde, GM, CSR, Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

The free check-up camp offered tests like BMI, RBS, ECG, general medicine, BP, eye screening with issuance of free spectacles, blood grouping and physician consultant.

According to an analysis by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), about 1,374 accidents and 400 deaths take place every day on Indian roads. Drivers’ negligence has been recognised as the single most responsible factor for road accidents, accounting for 77.1 percent of the total road accidents in 2015.

Speaking on the occasion, SGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) said, “We would like to thank Toyota Kirloskar Motor for organising the road safety awareness programme for the taxi drivers operating out of Hyderabad airport. We appreciate their efforts in fostering a safe traffic environment by sensitising taxi drivers about their health and providing training to them on right safety behavior. As an airport operator concerned about the safety of passengers and visitors, we also organise road safety awareness programme for the benefits of taxi drivers on a regular basis. Such programmes definitely instill confidence and good traffic behavior among the drivers and contribute towards a safe traffic environment.”

Also commenting on the occasion, Shekar Viswanathan, vice chairman and 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 GMR and Apollo Hospital & Essilor foundation, in our successful endeavor in undertaking this initiative. Health and safety are two major concerns which are often neglected in the automobile industry especially taxi drivers. Taxi drivers are exposed to lot of health problems as a direct result of erratic working hours, stress, poor posture, lack of proper diet, bad weather, pollution and most important being lack of adequate sleep. We have been consistently conducting ‘Driver Training Programs’ and ‘Health Check-up Camps’ to educate taxi drivers on safe driving practices and improve their physical wellbeing. Taxis are an integral part of public transport system carrying millions of passengers every year. With this initiative we aim at inculcating a strong safety culture in drivers and effectively reduce road accidents in India.”

Launched in line with the ‘Safest car with safest driver’ vision, TKM also launched Toyota Driving School across India in cities like Kochi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai. The training module will integrate technical expertise along with enhancing behavioural skills to create awareness about safety nationwide.

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