Basic HTML Version
22
MOTORINDIA
l
July 2012
Ashok Leyland’s
continued thrust on
driver training
More training institutes coming up
Mr. E.N. Surendran, Senior Man-
ager, Driver Training, oversees the
various operations at the institute.
With a passion for driving, he made
his first drive at the age of 12 and
has 31 years of driving experience.
Having mastered the art of travers-
ing the path of the number ‘8’, that
too in reverse, he could certainly be
considered a perfect fit for being at
the helm.
The institute is spread over 25
acres of land and has 12 trainers
who have taken up the task of trans-
forming the drivers through courses
of varying duration and syllabi. In
fact, some of the current trainers had
originally come to the institute as
trainees and subsequently opted to
stay on and dedicate their lives for
driver training. The institute has the
complete backing of the company’s
Managing Director, Mr. Vinod K.
Dasari, who is keen on making the
institute more contemporary with
the use of simulators and advanced
technology for training.
DTI has a spacious building that
accommodates five large class-
rooms, a library, a model room, a
laboratory, a conference room and
an open-air theatre. Recently, a
new sophisticated driving simulator
worth Rs. 1 crore was installed to
aid simulation training.
The test vehicles are available in
multiple configurations to provide a
comprehensive training routine for
trainees. Some of the different con-
figurations include 12 metre bus, 20
ft. tractor-trailer, 40 ft. tractor-trail-
er, multi-axle vehicle and vehicles
driver training
Ashok Leyland is known for its special initiatives with
regard to driver training and development. Established
in 1995, the company’s Driver Training Institute (DTI)
at Namakkal, the first of its kind, has served as a bench-
mark in driver training ever since. The company focus is
on three main aspects of inducting fresh drivers, incul-
cating a culture of road safety in drivers and imparting
knowledge about fuel-efficient methods of driving.
By N. Balasubramanian