Maruti Suzuki has announced the results of Maruti Suzuki AutoCar Young Driver Contest 2012. The contest has been won by Sudeep Ranjan Mishra of Kolkata. The first runners-up position went to Visakh Susan Vincent from Kochi while another youngster from Kolkata, Mudit Agarwal grabbed the second runners-up position. Srushty Parsana from Mumbai emerged as the best female driver. Maruti Suzuki awarded a brand new A-Star to the winner, Sudeep Ranjan Mishra, and declared him as the new brand ambassador for Maruti's safe driving campaign.
This nationwide competition hunts for the country's safest young driver who adheres to the highest safety parameters in driving among youngsters. This is the fourth season of the popular contest organised by the Indian automobile giant. It is over a decade now that the brand has been making sincere efforts to instil rules of road safety and safe driving habits among the youth of the nation.
Around 21,000 youngsters from over 65 cities of India participated in the contest marking it as the largest ever participation in the contest since its beginning in 2009. The participants were tested on their knowledge of traffic rules, road safety awareness and their real world driving skills. All individuals within the age group of 18-30 years holding a genuine driving licence were allowed to take part in this contest.
This young driver competition was held in three different phases. The first phase included registration for the online theory test which was designed to test the awareness of traffic rules, knowledge of own vehicle and road safety. Out of 21000 registrations in the first phase , 2000 reached the second phase wherein driving skills and knowledge of the contestants was tested. This was a practical test that was held across 65 cities at 110 Maruti Driving Schools. Only 20 individuals were selected for the final round in which, they underwent a practical driving test wherein they were marked on different standards. This final test took place at Institute of Driving Training & Research (IDTR), Sarai Kale Khan, New Delhi where they were rated on various driving parameters and their control over the vehicle.
Other campaigns by Maruti Suzuki such as IDTRs and Maruti Driving Schools are parts of the company's endeavour to make people aware about road safety. The automobile brand believes in promoting importance of safe driving among youngsters as it will bring a change in the present chaotic situation of the Indian roads and will reduce the rising number of accidents. With this aim, Maruti Suzuki had initiated this young driver contest to engage country's youngsters in an exciting and awarding contest, while simultaneously judging their driving skills. Maruti Suzuki AutoCar Young Driver Contest has gained immense popularity throughout the nation and has been quite successful in spreading the message of safe driving among the young masses of India.
