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Training pays dividends
Page 72
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• More and more haulage companies are getting wise to the fact that a little investment in driver training can bring big benefits in terms of longer vehicle life, cheaper insurance and enhanced company image, as well as fewer accidents.
"We've seen a tremendous surge of interest in training over the past 18 months as companies become more aware of the savings they can make," says Roger Clark, training manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
A course in defensive driving usually runs for one or two days and costs an average of 265 per driver. The usual format is to spend half the course in the classroom and the other half out on the road.
Courses can be built around a company's particular needs. "We had one client who was having problems with accidents at a congested delivery point, so we spent the practical part of the course dealing with that at a depot," says Clark. Similarly classes can be modified for small operators who can send drivers out with an instructor in a vehicle, rather than try to fill a classroom.
Express parcels carrier Lynx has introduced a one-day defensive driving training course, called "Driving for Safety and Profit", which is open to outside companies. In the five months the course has been operating Lynx has trained 50 drivers. The company says the course has resulted in reduction in vehicle wear, less damage to parcels and improved the company's image.
BRS Western has been running its own training courses for about 10 years and has now gone "one step further", according to driver training manager Howard Whittingham, by offering a "driver development" course in addition to its basic defensive driving scheme. "This course is aimed at altering the driver's attitude to driv ing, which is the key to safety," says Whittingham.
"We all know that if a polic man is around, our change in attitude means we drive well. BRS puts its drivers through this one-day course two year after they have completed thi two-day basic course, though this is not a prerequisite for non-BRS drivers wanting to take part.
Saving money
Whittingliam is convinced tha training is saving BRS a lot o money. "Vehicle maintenanc€ and fuel consumption costs c; drop by 15 to 20%, he says, not to mention what good driving does for our company image."
Insurance companies look favourably on companies seer to be taking safety seriously. "A company with a few youni drivers which operates, a deft sive driving training scheme i less likely to find its premiurr going up," says Linda Oliver, associate director of RHA Insurance Services.