Informa Markets

Author Bio ▼

Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP) is first for independent health and safety news.
August 23, 2009

Get the SHP newsletter

Daily health and safety news, job alerts and resources

Training – Young drivers- Giving young drivers the right steer from the start

Employers of young drivers are being helped to better equip and protect them via a series of free workshops currently being piloted by RoSPA.

 

 

A study conducted as part of RoSPA’s Young Drivers at Work project found that more than 60 per cent of employers felt the current system of learner training and testing did not adequately prepare young people to drive as part of their job.

 

 

 

 

 

Young people who get behind the wheel as part of their work – whether to make deliveries, as part of a sales team, or simply to drive passengers around a site – face, and create, a higher risk than other drivers, says the Society, which also claims figures show that young motorists are more at risk of being killed or injured on the roads than more experienced drivers.

 

 

 

 

 

Between July and October, RoSPA will pilot 10 interactive workshops, which are designed to be delivered in-company to groups of 10-15 young drivers. It will then use feedback from the sessions to develop free training guides so that employers can run similar events for their own staff.

 

 

 

 

 

Duncan Vernon, RoSPA road safety manager, said: “It is clear that further support is needed for young drivers at work, and employers have indicated they prefer face-to-face workshops as a way of giving that support. Many young drivers are currently required to drive in a context for which they are not adequately prepared, and these workshops offer a chance to address some of the issues they face.

 

 

 

 

 

“Journey planning, hazard awareness and the causes of work accidents will be examined, as will ways of influencing the attitudes of young drivers.”

 

 

 

 

 

RoSPA is also offering opportunities for smaller businesses to send their young employees to workshops, so that firms with one or two young drivers can also benefit from the training.

 

 

 

 

 

Organisations interested in finding out more about the workshops should contact Duncan Vernon at [email protected] or tel: 0121 248 2078.

 

Driving for Better Safety - Free eBook download

This eBook will guide you through some of the key understandings you need to be able to manage driver safety effectively and, at the end, provide a series of free resources you can access to help you ensure your own driver safety management system is robust, legally compliant and in line with industry-accepted good practice.

Download this eBook from Driving for Better Business and SHP to cover:

  • Why do we need to manage driver safety?
  • Duty of care – a shared responsibility;
  • Setting the rules with a driving for work policy;
  • Managing driver safety;
  • Ensuring safe vehicles;
  • Safe journeys and fitness to drive;
  • Record keeping;
  • Reporting;
  • The business benefits of good practice;
  • Additional resources

Related Topics

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments