Giving a push to road safety, the State Transport Department has proposed to purchase 11 heavy vehicle driving simulators to improve the driving skills of the drivers of the eight State Transport Corporations.
The four simulators bought earlier are in disuse and imported simulators cost a fortune. Therefore, the department has decided to buy simulators locally, matching international standards.
The Institute of Road Transport (IRT), the nodal agency for identifying and procuring the driving simulators, has awarded the tender to Vertex Research Centre located at Palladam of Tiruppur district.
Each simulator is being purchased at a cost of ₹9 lakh. A senior official of IRT said that the company would supply 11 simulators.
P.W.C. Davidar, who had recently retired as the Transport secretary, had initiated the process to bring down the road accidents caused by drivers of government buses.
S. Sureshbabu, in charge of Technology Marketing of Vertex Research Centre, said the company has developed research-based driver training courses.