According to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, in 2012 alone 1,38,258 individuals lost their lives in road accidents.

Surely something must be done about bringing down the numbers. Trying to do precisely that is Hubert Ebner India Pvt Ltd, an Indo-Austrian venture that is a name synonymous with road safety.

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The organisation, which came into existence in 1996, has imparted direct training to over 2 lakh people in the last decade and a half, observe, control and monitor more than 50,000 commercial drivers across India and is ambitiously determined to bring Road Safety Education to every state in India by 2017 through its products, services and partners. Is this target not too ambitious? says Susanne EbnerMayer, Managing Director of the venture, "Yes.

However, no target can be achieved if it is not ambitious. Currently we are catering to the length and breadth of India and also beyond borders to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal from the corporate office in Delhi and the regional office in Chennai, with other service locations being located in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Vadodara and Pune.

We plan to increase the number of service stations for a wider reach across the country.”

The unique selling proposition (USP) of the company, which is a pioneer of road safety, lies in more than three decades of research and experience from Austria and the largest on-roll pool of road safety experts in India, certified as per European standards. So why India? Ebner-Mayer recalls, "When I came to India for the first time in 1996, I saw chaos in the streets with respect to vehicular movement and following of traffic rules.

Ignoring the same would have been, of course, easier, but I chose to be here and initiate something that would change the scenario.

This led to the emergence of the company. Initially, we started with novice driver trainings, but soon realised that the problems lay with people who already knew how to drive and had a driving licence, but which was, most of time, procuredrather than obtained by undergoing proper structured training. This led us to the concept of post-licence defensive driver trainings which was initially difficult to explain to people, but soon the importance of which was understood.

Our biggest challenge, however, was getting trained manpower. Ours is the only organisation which picks up talent, trains them extensively as per European standards and then certifies them. Getting a ready trainer from the market has always been a challenge."

Head of Advantage Austria and Commercial Counsellor at the Austrian Embassy Oskar Andesner adds an important point. "Traffic in India is not at all comparable to what we have in Austria or Europe.

I am very pleased to say that Hubert Ebner India with its Austrian principles of teaching and its three decades of expertise helps to make driving safer in India. Hubert Ebner India strives to bring down the accident rates via defensive driving training courses. Austrian businesses are world class partners throughout."

Five years from now, Hubert Ebner India see itself as not only a leader in the market,where it currently enjoys a market share of more than 75 per cent, but more as an organisation which will be involved in highend research and policy making with government agencies and the ministry. Hubert Ebner's products include Academy Driver Training, Train the Trainer, Media and Publications, Training Aids and Equipment, Content Development, Concepts, Specialised Services and Consulting.

"We have continuously tried to evolve ourselves and adapt to the changing times and demands in this very niche segment, but without the association with various partners, this journey would not have been possible. This is precisely the reason why Hubert Ebner wanted to take this association to the next level and initiated the Patron Connect Conclave in 2015, which is now an annual affair" says EbnerMayer, while stressing on the need of partnerships. Remember:

Though a number of people are working towards making roads safe, "Making roads safer for everyone starts with you."