Makati City, PHILIPPINES – In a press briefing held last March 13, 2007 at the Dusit Hotel in this city, Honda Philippines, Inc (HPI) and Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) jointly announced the creation of the Honda Safety Driving Center (HSDC) on a 2.4 hectare property on East Service Road, South Superhighway, Parañaque City.

In his speech during the press briefing, Mr. Kazuhiko Ikezoe, President and General Manager of HPI who likewise has been appointed concurrent President of HSDC, mentioned that given the continuously rising vehicle population in the Philippines Honda recognizes that its mission does not end in supplying the market “with vehicles that are equipped with the most advanced safety technologies” as Honda “always have the customers’ highest level of safety in mind.”

Mr. Ikezoe added that in Honda “our job is to (likewise) provide the right software—that is teaching users the correct driving know-how, techniques, even proper vehicle maintenance.” This is because “vehicles if not used properly may cost lives, injuries, and significant damage to property” Mr. Ikezoe added.


With all these in mind, Honda deemed it as “our obligation to lead the Philippine motor vehicle industry in the promotion of driving safety and accident prevention programs” according to Mr. Ikezoe and what better way to do this than to establish a facility that comprehensively addresses this purpose.

Thus Honda decided to create the Honda Safety Driving Center, a non-stock, non-profit company with road safety promotion and driver education as its core activity. Its vision is to “Build a Community of Safe Road Users” in the Philippines.

HSDC, which is scheduled to be operational by October 2007, shall offer courses to learners of both motorcycles and automobiles. For motorcycles, facilities will include the figure 8, crank, narrow plank, and bumpy path—which are essential to develop the rider’s skills in balancing, cornering, and braking. A motorcycle dirt track is also included in the design of the facility to teach riders how to properly and safely negotiate unpaved terrain or debris-filled roads commonly found in the Philippines. For automobiles, courses like the S road, crank, change direction, and parking will be offered to hone driver skills in basic vehicle operations under the safest environment possible.


To prepare learners for actual road situations, traffic channels like the yellow box, round-about, slopes and lane merging are likewise integrated in the Center’s facilities. “This is the Honda way of educating drivers” according to Mr. Ikezoe as proper interaction with other road users can be efficiently demonstrated and properly acquired by students of the Center.

A unique feature of the HSDC is the “Low Friction Braking Course” where learners can acquire the correct handling of motorcycles and automobiles under various slippery road conditions. With this feature, the HSDC will be the first facility of its kind in Asia outside Japan.

At any given time, the Center is designed to accommodate seventy five (75) motorcycles and forty (40) automobiles, giving the HSDC an annual rated training capacity of 11,800 motorcycle riders and 8,600 automobile drivers. The Center will employ a total of seventy (70) well-trained instructors.

HSDC’s training program line-up shall include: Basic Safety Riding Course; Student-Learners Course for Automobiles; Advanced Courses for both motorcycle and cars; and Fleet Safety Driving Programs—contents of which can be tailor-fitted to every fleet client’s requirements.



Additionally, Mr. Ikezoe shared with media that Honda to date “has forty three (43) Traffic Education Centers and Driving Safety Facilities in twenty two (22) countries—a testament to Honda’s profound concern for the safety of its customers worldwide. MRPP