 Free workshops for young driver training
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is addressing concerns that young people are not well-equipped for driving at work with the launch of free workshops designed to overcome the problem.
The sessions have been specifically designed to help employers better equip and protect their staff aged between 17 and 24-years-old. Duncan Vernon, RoSPA’s road safety manager, said: “Journey planning, hazard awareness and the causes of work accidents will be examined, as will ways of influencing the attitudes of young drivers.”
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. Figures show that young motorists are more at risk of being killed or injured on the roads than more experienced drivers and it is also estimated that one in three crashes in the UK involves a vehicle being driven for work.
 Meanwhile, a study conducted as part of RoSPA’s Young Drivers at Work project found that more than 60% of employers felt the current system of learner training and testing did not adequately prepare young people to drive as part of their job.
RoSPA will pilot ten interactive workshops initially, to be delivered in-company to groups of 10-15 young drivers, from July until October and is looking for companies to volunteer. It is also offering opportunities for smaller businesses to send their young employees to workshops, so that firms with one or two young drivers can benefit from the training.
RoSPA will use the feedback from these sessions to develop free training guides so that employers can run similar events for their own staff.
 
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