If you employ people who either drive their own vehicle, or one that is supplied by you, and they use that vehicle in connection with your business, you will already know that you are required to carry out risk assessments on your driving staff in the manner as given by the Department For Transport Driving at Work guidelines.
However, driver risk assessments alone will not improve driving skills to an adequate degree, as to be effective in making a significant reduction to risk, good quality driver training will be required.
Fuel Efficient as Well as Work Efficient
Fleet driver training with Ride Drive will ensure your drivers will be more fuel efficient, more eco–friendly, as well as significantly reduce the risk of them becoming involved in a road collision, or other driving related incident. Reducing occupational road risk, as it is called, will reduce the potential for lost business and lost working hours caused as a result of a member of your team absent from work for a long period through injury (or worse).
The law relating to corporate liability can wield some pretty tough penalties, as with the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, liability when things go wrong no longer rests with the company name plate, but with individuals in management positions. Death or life changing injury to any of your driving employees resulting from a road collision will be investigated by the authorities and that always creates unwanted publicity.
Good quality fleet driver training will make sure that your drivers are not just risk assessed, but properly trained too. That means being able to carry out their work related tasks safely and efficiently. Therefore, the money you spend on training isn’t an expenditure, but an investment, because what you save on repairs and running costs will off–set your training costs.
Driver Risk Assessment Reports & Certificates
At the end of any Ride Drive fleet driver training course a details risk assessment report is prepared in respect of each delegate, covering 47 disciplines that are grouped into six categories. These range from the application of vehicle controls, hazard perception and planning, bend work, motorways, overtaking and general roadcraft. The document also identifies areas of risk identified during the course and what measures have been put in place to resolve them. We also issue a certificate, where it it deserved, to those delegates who have performed well.
Looking at The Long Term Future
Having invested money into training your drivers will only be a sensible investment if that level of training is maintained. Enter into a training scheme on a one–shot only basis does not give good value. You have to continue to update the training to make sure the driving skills of your staff are kept to a high standard.
At Ride Drive we recommend that following an initial driver training course, each delegate should receive at least half a day of refresher training every 3–years, and the half–day programme is an ideal tool for this purpose.
Continuous training means continuous financial savings realised through fewer road collisions, fewer working days lost, reduced vehicle running costs, as well as lower emissions. It will also mean more economical fleet insurance premiums and the development of a solid reputation concerning your company health and safety at work record. Now, isn’t that a good place to be?
If you would like more information about training for your vehicle fleet drivers, contact Ride Drive today to ask about how you can set up your company driver safety at work programme.
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