Patna, May 23: Learning to drive is no more a mundane experience for the residents of the city, as they master the tricks of steering a four-wheeler at Alankar Maruti Motor Driving School.

The school, a part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme under National Road Safety Mission of Maruti Suzuki India Limited, opened its doors on November 15 last year. Since then, it has produced 200 professional drivers.

Private drivers, too, have found the school to be a good option. “Alankar Maruti Motor Driving School has taught me the nitty-gritty of driving a car. Apart from the mechanical aspects and functioning of the various parts of a car, I have also been taught about road signs and road safety measures,” said Tara Dutt, a student of the school.

She added: “The simulator training also allows the student to experience the real feel of driving.

“Also, during the practical session when I had to drive on the road, I was very comfortable, as I was accompanied by an expert who took care of every detail,” said the student.

Dutt also said: “Thanks to the training I got at Alankar Maruti Motor Driving School, I can now drive even in adverse traffic conditions.”

Narendra Kumar, director, Alankar Maruti Motor Driving School, said: “Our school is one of its kind in Bihar. Our aim is to improve the quality of drivers. The trainers in our school are professionally trained at the Institute of Driving Training Research, Delhi. They train our students in a world-class facility. We have already produced around 200 professional drivers from our driving school. Its popularity has been increasing.”

The driving school is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

Around 21 hours of training is imparted to every student against a charge of Rs 4,000.

Students are first required to attended theory classes for four hours in a classroom equipped with projectors and an LCD screen. Software provided by Maruti is used for interactive learning.

Students are taught various topics, including driving signs and important sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, driving offences and penalties, speed regulations and others. Moreover, short films on similar topics, including overtaking, parking and others, are also shown to students for three hours.

In the next stage, students benefit from a simulator training for 2.5 hours. They get an opportunity to experience a simulation of real driving on a highly sophisticated machine.

The simulator resembles the driver’s seat in a car and is provided with a steering wheel, three screens on the front, which turns exactly as any vehicle would turn on the road.

After the simulator, a student takes a drive with a trainer for 10.5km.

“Although the price of the simulator machine is around Rs 28 lakh, it was provided to us by Maruti at the subsidised price of Rs 12 lakh. This is a CSR initiative of the company,” said Kumar.