On the steady path……

Plans for the official launch of the first Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) drivers’ training institute are in top gear after the Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) completed the installation of three state of the art truck simulators recently procured from France with assistance from USAID-COMPETE. The simulators include real truck driving cabs with motion platforms and a monitoring work station. The Truck Simulator technology is designed to offer real time driving experience in a virtual 3D environment. It reproduces real driving conditions and hence offers the trainee variety of options from basic to extreme conditions. It therefore makes it possible for a driver to anticipate different circumstances and prepare to handle them accordingly without risking lives and damaging trucks.

This institute will give fresh impetus to road safety programs currently implemented across the country. It’s envisaged that within the first year of operation, the institute will have undertaken education, training and (re)certification of over 6,400 drivers with an estimated annual growth of 20%. Buoyed by this positive forecast, which is in line with the Associations’ core objective of enhancing road safety and awareness through mitigation of road carnage, the KTA management is already scouting for the best brains in the driver-training field who will be charged with ensuring the highest possible standards of training and education. In seeking to provide a one-stop solution to the training and education needs of HCV Drivers, the centre shall run two programs namely: HCV-Driver education and training, and HCV-Driver Certification. Plans are also underway for a comprehensive training curriculum – the result of broad consultations and research.

Upon receipt of the simulators, the KTA Chief Executive Officer noted, “Our past efforts on road safety have yielded substantial positive results but much needs to be done to effectively mitigate road carnage thus the need for an integrated approach to driver training. This is conclusively articulated in the Institutes’ plan.”

She further avered, “In deed, the Institute will go a long way in bolstering road safety initiatives across the country and in the entire region.”