Full day (7 hours): Driver CPC Real World Training Course (LGV only). Defensive driving techniques tailored to the real working environment. Driver CPC Speed Workshop (PCV and LGV). The case for, and benefits of, pro-active speed management. Driver CPC Safe Culture Workshop (PCV and LGV). The benefits of EVERYBODY in an organisation being committed to driver safety

Half day (3.5 hours): Driver CPC Mobile Phone Workshop (PCV and LGV). The truth behind the danger of using a mobile phone inappropriately. Driver CPC Eco Driving Workshop (PCV and LGV). Making every gallon count, without compromising journey times. Driver CPC Reversing and Manoeuvring Course (PCV and LGV). Improving technique in the most common collision scenario. Driver CPC Seatbelt Workshop (PCV and LGV). Putting the case for all drivers to benefit from wearing seatbelts.

All ‘workshops’ are classroom-based, whereas ‘courses’ have a practical, hands-on element.

“Professional drivers will be required to complete 35 hours of Driver CPC training in order to retain their licence eligibility so, by completing all seven DriveTech courses, drivers would be meeting their legal obligations in full,” says DriveTech’s Director of Training, Steve Dethick.

“DriveTech will be developing other Driver CPC courses and workshops over the coming months but the first batch that have been delivered to corporate customers have been well received.”

The DriveTech CPC courses and workshops can be delivered at any UK location subject to suitability, and further details about price and availability can be obtained by contacting the DriveTech FleetSafe Account Development Manager, Kelly Robertson, on 01344 467886 or at fleetsafe@drivetech.co.uk

Further information about DriveTech’s wide-ranging work in driver education please refer to www.drivetech.co.uk

DriveTech will be promoting its award-winning products and services at this year’s premier health and safety showcase , which not only save fleet running organisations huge sums of money but also help them discharge their duty of care towards employees and customers.

As well as making drivers less collision-prone, DriveTech personnel will be able to demonstrate the online risk management tool DrivingMonitor as well as showing how to make drivers less collision-prone. DrivingMonitor can give anyone managing a fleet an immediate picture of driver history, eligibility and training record, collision data and costs, vehicle details and locations and a wealth of other information. 
 
DriveTech provides driver risk management services for some 280 corporate customers at any given time and thanks to work in other areas of driver education (most notably on behalf of a dozen or more police forces), some ten per cent of the UK driving population has now been exposed to DriveTech products or services.

For further information about DriveTech’s wide-ranging work in driver education visit www.drivetech.co.uk

Commenting in reaction to the news about the award, Managing Director Jim Kirkwood said: “We’re very pleased to be recognised by a body which represents the whole of the transportation industry, not just the sector in which DriveTech operates.

“Clearly safety is top of the agenda for all of those who work in the transportation industry and those who have responsibility for safely guiding to their destinations planes, trains and ships are obviously trained to an extremely high level. We are trying to apply the same sort of philosophy to those who drive vehicles for a living, as well helping private motorists make better informed decisions whilst behind the wheel.”

The ITM issued the award on the basis of DriveTech’s all encompassing involvement in driver education across the board.

Apart from servicing the needs of some 280 corporate fleet customers, with everything from online driver assessments to practical training courses, DriveTech now operates some twenty different schemes on behalf of over a dozen different police authorities, whereby drivers can opt for an educational workshop in preference to receiving a fine and points on their licence.

The ITM Award is the ninth trade title that DriveTech has won in the past seven months and the seventh it has won from ITM in the last nine years.

Far from being resentful about having to ‘go back to school’, the majority of the attendees can admit that they learnt something worthwhile from the experience, as this article from the January 9th 2009 issue of the Oxford Mail and Oxford Times testifies below.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxford/4035626.Course_teaches_risk_of_speeding

“We are extremely pleased that the effectiveness of the workshops that we have been delivering over the past three years has been recognised in this way,” says Andy Wheeler, Director of the company’s police schemes division, DriverAware.

“We now have the opportunity to make an even greater change in driver behaviour in the county, which will save lives, reduce injuries and even lower carbon emissions.”

DriveTech currently runs some 28 different police educational schemes throughout the UK for various police forces, whereby offenders are offered the opportunity to attend a workshop rather than pay a fine and have their licence endorsed with three points.

Journalist Chris Blackhurst, who writes for the London Evening Standard, recently attended a similar DriveTech-run course in London as a paying customer. Here is an extract of what he wrote afterwards:

“I was expecting boy racers in Top Gear jackets. Instead we seemed to be roughly the same age and sensible – clearly the police thought we might listen and learn. And we did.

“For the first half we had a bit of a chat. None of us had revisited the Highway Code. Only one of us got all the questions right about speed limits on different types of road……questions about our lifestyles and driving habits gave us a personal profile…..none of this was made public. It was between me and my conscience……Chris (the presenter) asked us how and where we’d been caught. Everyone answered in near apologetic tone. Then he showed us a picture of the aftermath of a fatal accident in north London….the car was travelling at 39mph in a 30mph zone…on the way back and coming into work I didn’t go over 30 once.”

“We believe we are the first driver education provider to attain such recognition,” says Steve Dethick, Manager of the DriveTech Academy. “This should give all our corporate customers even more confidence in our quality of delivery. Our trainers are queuing up to take advantage of the additional qualifications on offer too.”

As part of the process, DriveTech’s innovative learner driver programme, DriveTech Advantage, has also been specifically accredited by City & Guilds and graduates of the scheme will benefit from a recognised qualification in driving that they can present to a prospective employer.
Prior to this development the ‘Full Advantage’ product was already breaking new ground by including

• In vehicle instruction by the highest qualified instructors in the land
• A revitalised, modern interpretation of the core elements of the test curriculum
• Elements of defensive driving technique from the outset
• Interactive workshops designed to equip drivers with the knowledge of experienced drivers
• Mandated practice, in line with the relevant curriculum stage, between lessons
• Detailed workbooks containing comments, hints and tips for both driver and mentor
• Post licence acquisition training on motorways and single carriageway rural roads

The DriveTech Advantage range of driving courses is currently only available in the Home Counties but the company is confident of rapid expansion of the franchise during 2009, despite the economic climate.

“We have an enviable pass rate, a highly competitive insurance offering and easy payment terms too,” says the company’s Training Director Steve Fothergill. “We’re also offering an attractive package for budding entrepreneurs. Being a driving instructor with DriveTech can open doors for many other training opportunities as well.”

Before joining DriveTech, Roger held a variety of senior positions in the mobile telecommunications industry where customer service, innovation and rapid response to market demand are prerequisites. During spells with Cellnet, Orange, T-Mobile, Marconi Wireless and Ericsson, Roger acquired huge experience in both creating and developing various business units through the application of detailed operational planning.

“We are very pleased to welcome someone with such a wide variety of business experience” says Chris Howell, DriveTech’s chairman. “Because of its diversification, product effectiveness and customer retention, DriveTech is growing rapidly year on year. Roger will be instrumental in ensuring we have a cohesive approach to meeting the operational demands of the existing six DriveTech brands and those that are to follow.”

Roger, who lives in Princes Risborough, has an MBA from University of Surrey and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Before joining DriveTech, Roger held a variety of senior positions in the mobile telecommunications industry where customer service, innovation and rapid response to market demand are prerequisites. During spells with Cellnet, Orange, T-Mobile, Marconi Wireless and Ericsson, Roger acquired huge experience in both creating and developing various business units through the application of detailed operational planning.

“We are very pleased to welcome someone with such a wide variety of business experience” says Chris Howell, DriveTech’s chairman. “Because of its diversification, product effectiveness and customer retention, DriveTech is growing rapidly year on year. Roger will be instrumental in ensuring we have a cohesive approach to meeting the operational demands of the existing six DriveTech brands and those that are to follow.”

Roger, who lives in Princes Risborough, has an MBA from University of Surrey and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Total Fleet Services’ customers will now have access to the full range of interventions that DriveTech has been using successfully over many years to mitigate risk and reduce fleet running costs.

Total Fleet Managing Director Kevin Harris said: “We are very pleased to be associated with DriveTech, who will be working with us to deliver driver assessment and training to both our new and existing clients.

“We believe delivering effective Duty of Care guidance is a very important addition to the service we can offer customers. More efficacious Corporate Manslaughter legislation is with us and with us to stay; we believe we have the right partner to deliver a ‘best in class’ solution.”

DriveTech will be providing Total Fleet customers with online driver risk assessments, followed by practical training tailored to their specific needs.