Honda 2Wheelers India digitally educates 23,000+ NSS volunteers on road safety

Gurugram, 15 February 2021: Supporting NSS volunteers who continue to serve the nation even during COVID-19 uncertainties, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) today announced that its road safety training ‘Honda Road Safety E-Gurukul’ has successfully empowered over 23,000 National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers across India on staying safe on roads, that too digitally, from the safety of their homes.

Across India, Honda’s specialized road safety instructors digitally trained the National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers aged 16 years + on the important aspects of road safety. Noteworthy, that in just 8 months beginning June 2020, Honda reached out to the NSS volunteers of over 200 colleges of 13 universities across 30+ towns & cities of India – From East (Dhanbad, Sambalpur, Medinapore, Gaya, Durg) to West (Ahmednagar, Nashik & Pune); North (Bilaspur, Gurugram, Udaipur, Delhi) to South (Kannur, Trivandrum, Calicut, Ernakulam, Thrissur).

Speaking on this milestone achievement, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Senior Vice President – Brand & Communications, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “For 20 years, Honda has been aggressively working in India towards its vision of ‘Safety for Everyone’ on roads. We respect the grit of NSS volunteers across the nation who continued serving the society even in the challenging times of COVID-19. To enhance their safety & inculcate safer riding habits, Honda has digitally trained more than 23,000 NSS volunteers of over 200 colleges in just 8 months. With this initiative, Honda aims to sensitize all type of road users, be it existing or new riders, pedestrians or pillions of their responsibility on roads.”

Keeping it informative yet engaging, Honda’s road safety instructors conducted a 2-hour long Road Safety Webinar based on a mix of theory, videos & case studies.

NSS volunteers were given understanding of road safety rules, signs & markings (difference between mandatory, cautionary & informative signs; yellow, white or double lines) and traffic lights & signals (stop, move, left turn, right turn, go straight or slow down).

The volunteers were also briefed on how they can pro-actively avoid road accident injuries by scientific techniques like the correct driving/riding posture, importance of wearing a seatbelt or helmet and riding gears.

Further, Honda’s safety instructors also educated the NSS volunteers on road sharing manners (sticking to your lane, use of bicycle tracks & footpaths by bicycle riders & pedestrians).

Fully understanding that road safety begins before a rider begins his ride, Honda’s trainers also explained about the major checks before they start to ride/drive and also vehicle maintenance tips.

Honda’s vision of “Safety for Everyone” since 1970:

50 years ago, Honda was the first automobile manufacturer to start road training globally. In India too, Honda was the 1st two-wheeler manufacturer to spread road safety awareness. Since its inception in 2001 till now, Honda’s road safety instructors have empowered over 38 lac Indians on road safety.

Daily trainings are held across Honda’s 12 adopted Traffic Training Parks (TTP), 7 Safety Driving Education Centers (SDEC). Further to this are the regular awareness trainings in schools, colleges, societies & corporates. Not only this, 1000+ Honda dealerships across India impart pre-delivery safety advise (PDSA) to every new customer. Every Honda dealership also improves the risk-prediction ability of riders on roads with the virtual riding simulator.

As a next step in the new normal, Honda started the digital initiative – Honda Road Safety E-Gurukul’ in May’20. A big success, this digital initiative alone has sensitized 2 lac+ Indians in over 185 towns on the importance of being aware and responsible road users.