Eicher launches eye & ear care services for truck drivers

Eicher has introduced Eicher Driver Care Program, which will provide eye and ear care services for truck drivers all year round. Along with Driver Care Centres, the company has launched 3 Eicher Eye and Ear Screening Mobile Vans (EMV) in Delhi NCR and Kanpur regions. 

The Eicher Driver Care Program is a joint effort of the Eicher Group Foundation and Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital (SCEH). It includes comprehensive primary eye and ear screenings, blood pressure and diabetes check-ups, providing spectacles at subsidized rates, providing for comprehensive check-ups and further treatment, ophthalmic van with advanced eye and ENT equipment with optical fitting labs, digitization of records and special communication system, leaflets and AVs for driver awareness and education.

The EMVs offer services like driver mobilization, free screening, awareness and counselling sessions as well as referrals for eye and ear surgery and cover transport hubs within a 90-100 km range.

The program will target 20 major transport hubs along the Golden Quadrilateral and national highways and is estimated to impact 25 lakh drivers. It aims to target other major transport hubs in the country by partnering with corporates and stakeholders in the medical community. As part of the program, Eicher and SCEH have already organized 444 camps and tested over 12,000 drivers. 2,785 drivers were found to be suffering from vision related problems out of which 42% were handed out spectacles and 4% were referred for further examination and treatment.

According to the Transport Research Wing, 77.1% of total road accidents during 2015 were caused by driver error and poor eyesight is found to be one of the main reasons for truck accidents in India.