Courses can be held at any location in the UK or Republic of Ireland.  Most clients choose their own premises as a training venue. Course sizes can be from one driver up to around 20.  If we are running a theory session, which we would recommend, we need a suitable training room capable of seating the delegates. We can provide all audio-visual equipment if you do not have it on site.  For the on-road training we need the appropriate vehicles which should be insured for our instructor to drive.

The most popular and effective course is the one- day part theory - part practical course.  A two-hour theory session is followed by a five hour practical session on public roads.

The theory session underlines the risks to which drivers are exposed on a daily basis. To manage the prevailing risks, drivers are introduced to a systematic approach to driving based on the ‘Roadcraft” system of advanced driving developed by the police service over the last 60 years. This ensures the vehicle is in the right place at the right time travelling at an appropriate speed with the correct gear selected. The system builds on gathering good information by all round observation to ensure the driver can formulate a plan of action to allow safe progress to be made. Throughout the session, drivers are encouraged to question and explore all issues and draw on their own experience to identify a safe approach to the task.

The practical session begins with a physical check of the vehicles to be used following the principles previously discussed and any minor deficiencies are corrected. If any vehicle is considered to be unfit for use, an alternative will be sought.

Each driver will also be asked to demonstrate that they meet the eyesight requirements by reading a standard number plate at the required distance before taking to the road for the initial assessment drive. They will be asked to drive in their normal style for approximately twenty minutes to allow the trainer to identify their principal training needs. After this, the trainer will give a commentary drive to demonstrate the application of the “system” and then will lead a discussion on the merits of each individual drive and agree the training points which will be given emphasis in the remainder of the day.

Drivers will receive coaching from the trainer as they experience a range of driving conditions to include urban, rural and high-speed roads.

At the conclusion of the day the trainer will provide verbal feedback for each individual summarising the written report, which will be produced shortly afterwards.   The report is meant to be a template for further personal development in your daily driving.

Defensive Driving Courses are £330 plus VAT per trainer per day for any UK location.  A trainer can see between one and four drivers per day for that price depending on how we organise the course.

Over the last 30 years we have a proven track record of reducing claims rates often by up to 65%.  In the past a driver training course was the last resort imposed on a company by their insurance underwriters.  Many companies with excessively high claims rate became uninsurable.   More recently however, companies are aware of their Duty of Care obligations and the risk of prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter act.   Driver training is now seen as a preventative measure that shows that a company actually cares about the safety of its employees when driving.  

Insurance companies simply reflect your previous claims record.  If it is rising they will increase your premium.  If it is falling they will decrease it.  Your premium will be based on your last three years’ claims cost.  So the answer is yes, it will reduce your premium if you have a planned  programme of training and risk management that you stick to in the long term.    We have case studies from companies such as EDF Energy, BG Group, Countrywide Estate Agents and many others which all show significant savings in insurance premiums and third party costs. 

The training is not a test.  There is no pass or fail.  But we will recommend drivers for further training if we feel they are not safe.  This might be down to inexperience or lack of confidence rather than outright aggression and poor judgement.  A second in vehicle session on a 1:1 ratio is usually sufficient to get the driver up to a safe standard. 

They come from a variety of backgrounds including the Police, Fire & Rescue Service and the Military. All are Department of Transport Approved Driving Instructors (ADI) where required and are registered with the Driving & Vehicle Standards Agency. Many have advanced driving qualifications and have taken the RoSPA Diploma in Driving Instruction and the Department of Transport Cardington A test.  Above all they are good communicators with the ability to pitch the training at a level that will help the individual driver to develop their own skills and safety.

If releasing drivers for a full day is difficult we can run half day sessions for individual drivers.  Or we can organise the training so a theory session for a large group of drivers is followed by in vehicle training over subsequent days run as half day sessions. Please note we always charge for a full instructor day so we will work with you to ensure that we fill and instructor day in the most cost effective manner for you.

We can train from a single person up to around 12 people in one location on one day. Ideally we prefer to have two drivers per trainer so that there is sufficient time for each driver to get the full benefit of time behind the wheel.  In the interests of economy, we can train on a 3:1 ratio which works out at a lower cost per head.   If we split the theory from the practical we can arrange for one trainer to see four drivers in a day – two a.m. and two p.m. 

The norm is to use a company owned and insured vehicle for the practical session.  This should be insured for both delegates and the trainer to drive. Most company Fleet Policies will cover this. If you don’t have company cars available, the best option is to let us hire and insure a car on your behalf. We have our own Fleet Policy for this purpose.  Typically a hire car costs around £99 per day plus VAT. This includes hire, delivery and pick up, fully comprehensive insurance and the cost of fuel used on the day.

If your drivers use their own car on company business, it should be insured for business use and can be used for the training. However the training will need to be done on a 1:1 ratio as other drivers will not be insured.   The trainer will give his commentary from the passenger seat and will be unable to give a demonstration drive.  The most economical format in this case is to train one driver in the morning and one in the afternoon so you get two drivers trained for the cost of one trainer day = £330 plus VAT.

Some clients prefer to do that to avoid accusations of victimisation if only drivers with a poor claims record are trained.   It’s a weak argument as the law requires employers to do everything that is reasonably practicable to ensure a driver is safe.  If a driver is repeatedly having accidents there is clearly a risk and training is one of the possible solutions.

In bigger companies the cost of training everyone may be seen as being prohibitive.  In this case selecting drivers based on risk is a sensible approach.    Most companies have 20% of their drivers causing 80% of their claims.  An analysis of claims records will soon show who the 20% are.

There are many on line risk assessment packages available which will identify high risk drivers. Clients typically will tailor their programme so that high risk drivers attend a full course,  medium risk drivers attend a half day course, and low risk drivers may attend a theory only session or receive no training at all.

If the company does not want to invest in on line risk assessments, there are many on the market, you can apply your own criteria for identifying drivers most at risk.  Over the years we have found that an analysis of claims data, fuel consumption, vehicle wear and tear, drivers’ ages and experience and miles driven on company business will highlight the highest risk drivers.

Between August 2008 and March 2009 we trained 700 meter installers / maintenance engineers in vans for EDF Energy. Unbeknown to us EDF Energy monitored the fuel consumption as part of their Zero Harm initiative.

When the three months fuel consumption figures prior to the training were compared with the three months fuel consumption afterwards, they showed an 11% saving. This is consistent with our experience over the past 20 years of training particularly with commercial fleets. Initial fuel consumption falls by about 12.5% and then settles down to around 8.5% as some old habits creep back in.

The reduced fuel consumption is derived from a smoother driving style - less gas and brakes, fewer gear changes as we cut out unnecessary changing down through the gearbox by older drivers, better anticipation and planning, so the wheels keep turning, and use of acceleration sense for braking purposes. With the smoother driving style comes reduced wear and tear on tyres (estimated to be between 5 and 10%), reduced clutch and brake wear, and less downtime due to collisions.

No, we can train at any of your branch offices,  or we can hire low cost meeting rooms around the country on your behalf if we are doing a theory session.   If you have just one or two drivers in an area we are happy to meet at their home address.   For in vehicle only sessions we can meet in safe public places e.g. a supermarket car park.  Our trainers all carry ID and we take the appropriate personal safety measures in the case of any female drivers.

The course is all about awareness.  The average driver spends 80% of their driving time on auto pilot – particularly on familiar roads.  The course will help them to drastically increase the concentration levels,  observation and anticipation skills.  Most older drivers have not read the Highway Code for 30 years and their lack of current Traffic Law is often exposed in the first few minutes of a course.  Most don’t know how to ascertain what the speed limit is on a specific stretch of road.  Technology on cars has changed beyond recognition.  But most drivers don’t understand how ABS or ESP works on the modern car.   We are yet to meet a driver who has learnt nothing from a course.

While the general principles of Defensive Driving are the same,  there are subtle differences in the course material and practical sessions.  Most LGV fleets suffer from a high claims rate in the “hit stationary object” and “reversed into third part” category.  We look at vehicle positioning,  avoiding having to reverse,  positioning at junctions to protect your space,  fuel efficient driving  and there is a concentrated emphasis on vehicle checks and keeping the vehicle legal. 

As a minimum you should have a Management of Road Risk policy as part of your overall Health and Safety Policy and should risk assessing your drivers. More details can be found here.

Most abuse comes from aggressive driving as the driver mistakes speed for progress.  Training the driver to adopt a planned drive, observing other road users and anticipating traffic flows will usually convince them that creating space to be able to  make good progress will in fact get them there faster than the “ gas and brakes” approach.   Most aggressive drivers accelerate to a halt.  Getting them to keep the wheels rolling with fewer forced stops usually convinces them that the defensive approach is better.   In a few cases we have drivers who have a problem with life as well as with driving and no amount of driver training is going to cure that.  In these situations their performance in the rest of their role is usually already of concern to the employer.  It then becomes a disciplinary issue rather than a driving issue.

Yes we will retrain free of charge any driver who is involved in a blameworthy accident within 12 months of the course .  But they must have attended a full one day part theory part practical course and any further training recommendations that we made after the initial course must have been carried out. 

Over the last 30 years we have trained for over 2000 organisations such as EDF Energy, BG Group, RBS Group,  Boots,  Centrica Countrywide plc,  The Forestry Commission,  Public Health England,  various NHS Trusts,   London Boroughs of Lewisham, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney.  Bury MBC,  Warrington BC,  Tameside MBC, Oldham, Bolton, Bury, Salford councils.  ExxonMobil,  Shire Pharmaceuticals, Rio Tinto,  Alcoa, Ocado, The Law Society, The Highways Agency, Monsoon, BAE Systems, US Steel, Coventry Building Society, John West Foods and hundreds of others.

The company was founded in 1989.  The Directors of the company have been involved in road safety for nearly 40 years.  

Yes we have a specific course specially designed for this purpose.  We can also provide hire vehicles with the appropriate level of insurance cover for any foreign national.  Most clients also ask us to train the driver’s spouse or partner to ensure that they too are safe to drive on the UK’s roads and understand the driving licence rules, road signs, motorways and things that we all take for granted.  See https://www.ddtgroup.com/advanced-driving-course/foreign-drivers-uk-familiarisation-course

This is a common request from insurance companies.  We tailor a specific course for each case and take the training at a pace that the driver can cope with.  They may have a fear of motorways or dual carriageways and the training works with the driver to gradually rebuild confidence.   Often we will re-examine the circumstances of the incident to see if there were any actions that the driver could have taken to avoid the collision.  This usually helps the driver to come to terms with the situation and move on. 

The HSE Management of Road Risk Guidelines suggests refresher training every two years.  Most of our clients go for three years.  Refresher training can comprise of a simple half day in vehicle session to remind the drivers of the salient points of Defensive Driving.  Or it can be a progression to more advanced driving skills where we run a full one-day course and build on the lessons of the original course.  The advanced refresher course is very much Roadcraft based and is a good platform for drivers to sit the Advanced Driving Test should they wish to do so. 

We have a range of bespoke courses and can tailor a programme for you if you can’t see what you want here.