Belhasa Driving Center (BDC), the UAE’s leading driving institute, is set to expand and open more training centers across Dubai employing the latest training methods and technologies to train students and driving instructors. Celebrating its fifth year of operations, the company recently opened two more branches – one in Bur Dubai and the other in Deira to take its tally to 13 branches in Dubai. The new Bur Dubai branch, located near Al Re’faa police station, and the Deira branch located in Gold Souk were officially inaugurated by Saif Ahmed Belhasa, Chairman and Managing Director, BDC.
The opening of new branches is part of BDC’s strategy to expand its network across Dubai. The company also plans to open its branches in new Dubai including areas such as Dubai Marina, Jebel Ali, and Arabian Ranches, during their next level of branch expansion programme. BDC also has plans to upgrade its existing facilities including fleet expansion and the introduction of new specialised courses in 2007. The institute witnessed an increase in the number of students trained per day from 5,000 in 2005 to 6,000 in 2006, and the total number of driving licenses issued till date has crossed over 300,000.
Commenting on the expansion plans, Saif Ahmed Belhasa, said, “BDC has a long and impressive track record of providing the highest level of training to its students. The opening of new branches is to facilitate easier access and better service to our students, and our expansion policy will seek to add new facets to the driving learning experience in Dubai. The introduction of specialized courses to complement existing ones is part of our initiative to ensure a complete training exercise for students and to equip them with all the necessary skills to face the daily challenges of driving in Dubai. We have also been focusing on constantly improving the level of services and quality of facilities we offer; to not only ensure that we produce good drivers, but also to provide an all-inclusive set of services within our premises.”
BDC has recently increased its fleet of training vehicles by adding 30 new vehicles and recruiting 50 new instructors to cope with the increased intake of students, following the recent decision by the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to close down small driving institutes. At present, BDC operates a fleet of 600 training cars training approximately 6,000 candidates per day. The center issues about 150 fresh licenses each day, and the efficient training services and fast-track procedures ensure that candidates are mostly issued their licenses within a period 45 days of commencement of the training course.
“We are keen on minimising the waiting period for applicants, which is why we have significantly expanded our fleet and brought in more instructors. The emphasis however is on ensuring that the instructors receive adequate training and reach the required standard before they can actually begin their work. Over the years, BDC has set new standards for driver training in the region with our highly experienced instructors and through our scientific approach to training like our innovative Driving Instructor Training Programme. Our instructor training programmes aims to further enhance the skills of driving instructors who in turn will help produce more responsible and skilled drivers,” added Saif Belhasa.
BDC had recently launched a country-wide road safety campaign, 'BE SAFE', targeting primary school children in the UAE to educate students about road safety, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility programme. Through the 'BE SAFE' campaign, BDC aims to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of road traffic and hone behavioral skills to help them safely commute on the road. The campaign is expected to reach 50,000 children through traffic safety demonstrations, posters, brain storming puzzles, fun games and educational books. During the campaign, experts from the BDC will visit schools in the UAE to demonstrate traffic and safety rules to spread awareness on road safety among students.
“At Belhasa, we strongly believe that excellence is attained and maintained only through strict, periodic evaluations. Road safety and traffic management are focus areas in our agenda for corporate social responsibility. Road accident and fatality rates in the UAE are alarmingly high, and BDC has been seeking to remedy this situation by spearheading the cause of safe driving practices,” concluded Saif Belhasa.
About Belhasa Driving Center:
Belhasa Driving Center, established on October 13, 2001, is the new name for Dubai Modern Driving Institute, which was set up more than a quarter century ago. The driving center, which is a member of the Saif Belhasa Group has witnessed exponential growth in the last few years and today boasts of an impressive fleet of over 600 training cars, 50 heavy duty trucks, 50 buses, 50 motorcycles, 25 light and heavy forklifts, backed by professional and well-trained team of instructors. Today BDC has set new standards in providing training courses for light motor vehicle, motorcycle, heavy vehicles, forklift safety operating, defensive driving and desert driving. In addition, BDC offers specialized courses like Incident Avoidance, Progressive Driver Development, DIAmond Advanced Motorists course, Chauffer course, UAE familiarisation course, Anti car hi-jacking, Surveillance security and pursuit driving courses. BDC has branches in Jumeirah, Al Wasl Club, Jebel Ali, Port Rashid, Karama, Al Qusais, Lamcy Plaza, Deira, Al Aweer and Century Mall, all of which have extensive shuttle transportation services to ferry students from their homes or offices.
